Bringing Ryan Home
by storymom
Summary: So after the finale, I thought about how Ryan would return to the OC. THE END - HE'S HOME, WHAT MORE CAN I SAY? Remember - I still own nothing to do with the OC or Fox.
1. Default Chapter

Teresa knew Ryan was miserable. He never said anything. He didn't have to. She had hoped that he would get used to being back in Chino, and everything could go back to the way it was before he took off for Newport and the Cohens the year before. But it didn't, because Ryan wasn't the same person who left. Teresa knew he didn't want to be there. He wanted to be in Newport, not in Chino, and he wanted to be with Marissa and the Cohens, not her and her mother.  
  
But Ryan was in Chino, and he was working hard to help support Teresa and her mother. He worked his old construction job from eight until five and then would go over to the local diner and work six to midnight busing tables and washing dishes. A fifteen hour work day, six days a week. Ryan's only day off was Sunday, and on that day he would sleep late and then drink beer and smoke cigarettes in front of the television all day. So Teresa finally got her wish, Ryan was back in Chino. But she never saw him, and when she did, he was so miserable, he had nothing to say.  
  
As far as she knew in the two months since he had been back, he hadn't talked to anyone in Newport. The Cohens had called, a lot, but Ryan was always at work. Teresa didn't think he ever called them back. Not that he said anything. She only knew because there were never any Newport Beach numbers listed on the phone bill.  
  
It was a hot day in mid July when Teresa got up to get ready for her waitressing job. Ryan had already left, naturally. She noticed he was leaving even earlier each morning, most days before she even got up. She didn't know why, but she hoped he was getting over time for it. She was still thinking about it when she went into the bathroom, and noticed a little bit of blood. It wasn't much, and it wasn't even bright red. It was kind of brownish, which Teresa thought was odd. She didn't have any cramps, so Teresa figured it wasn't really a problem. Since they really couldn't afford for Teresa to see the doctor regularly, she went to work instead.  
  
Later on that night after she helped her mother clean up from dinner, Teresa noticed a little more blood, and began having some slight cramps. Nothing serious. Definitely nothing like she had seen on television. She knew most miscarriages happened in the first trimester, and she was past that and into her second. So Teresa didn't think she was having a miscarriage. She figured she was probably just working too hard.  
  
She took the next day off, even though they really couldn't afford it, but she thought it would be better if she rested. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The bleeding continued, and her cramps started getting a little stronger, despite trying to rest. It was around noon when Teresa realized it would be a good idea to go over to the clinic to see what the problem was. Since no one else was home, she drove herself. She still doubted that it was anything to be too concerned about. She was in her second trimester, and she had been feeling really good. Fact was, she had been feeling great. The morning sickness had past, she was finally able to eat anything she wanted and not be bothered by it, and she noticed that her chest no longer bothered her. It wasn't sore or swollen like it had been in the beginning. She had heard that a little bleeding was relatively common during pregnancy, especially when the pregnant woman is on her feet eight hours a day as a waitress. So Teresa wasn't too worried about what the doctor would say.  
  
Six hours later, Teresa returned home, and she was devastated. She could still hear the doctor. "Fetal demise". What a nice, technical term meaning nothing more then my baby is dead, Teresa thought as she entered her empty house. Her mother and Ryan were both still at work, so she was still alone. Except now, she was more alone then before. Now, she didn't have her baby. It was gone, too.  
  
And as Teresa lay on the bed thinking about everything that happened, she realized that she had just lost more then her baby. Teresa had been in love with Ryan since they first met, when they were eight. He was only in Chino because of the baby, and now that there wasn't going to be a baby, he wouldn't stay. She knew once Ryan found out, he'd have no reason to stay. He'd go back to Newport, and she would lose him again.  
  
Suddenly Teresa was much more upset about losing Ryan then she was about losing the baby. She knew the baby wasn't Ryan's, and she knew he knew it, too. But if she could get pregnant again, then this time it would be Ryan's baby. The doctor had told her that she had to wait at least two months before trying to get pregnant again, but Teresa knew she couldn't wait. Unfortunately, she just wasn't sure how she was going to get pregnant again. Ryan hadn't so much as looked at her since he moved in.  
  
As she thought about it some more, she realized that maybe if she could convince him that they should get married then maybe he'd be more willing to make love to her again. That made the most sense to Teresa. She wouldn't tell him about the miscarriage. Instead, she would tell Ryan that they should get married for the sake of the baby. Then she would get pregnant again, but this time, it would be his baby. Then he would stay in Chino. Teresa decided to wait until Sunday to talk to him. It was only Monday, she would have the whole week to think about it and work out all the details. She'd talk to him first thing Sunday, and then they could start making their wedding plans. Maybe then Ryan would finally be happy. 


	2. The Fights

At least it's finally Saturday, Ryan thought while he washed dishes at the diner. His week was almost done, and he had the next day off to sleep. He hadn't been getting a whole lot of that lately, especially the past week. For what ever reason, Teresa seemed more restless at night then she usually was. Must be some pregnancy thing Ryan thought.  
  
His boss had asked him to stay until the late night crowd was gone, which usually meant about two in the morning. The extra money would be good, especially with Teresa taking some days off this week. Days they really couldn't afford for her to take off, but she told him the morning sickness was really starting to bother her again, and she needed to rest and relax. He thought it was a little strange that she would start suffering from morning sickness again, but he didn't really question it. If he thought about it long enough, he would have realized he was really starting to care less.  
  
He knew he made his decision to support Teresa and her baby, and that meant being back in Chino. He just didn't realize how much he would miss his life in Newport, and especially the Cohens. It hurt just thinking about them. Every time he picked up the phone to call them, he couldn't do it. He knew if he talked to any of them - Seth, Sandy or Kirsten, he'd want to go home. And no matter how long he'd be back in Chino, Ryan knew that Newport and the Cohens would always be his home.  
  
It was close to three when Ryan was finally able to crawl into bed, too tired to shower off the sweat and grim of a seventeen hour day. He slept until almost one the next day, and only got up when he realized he hadn't eaten since lunch the day before. After a long hot shower, Ryan went to the kitchen with the plan to grab a bite to eat, a beer and his smokes before sitting down in front of the television. The last thing he wanted was a conversation with Teresa, but he found her in the kitchen, waiting for him.  
  
"Morning sleepy head," she said, trying to smile, "or should I say afternoon?"  
  
Ryan knew she was just trying to tease him, but he really wasn't in the mood, so he just gave her a look.  
  
"Are you hungry? I could make you something to eat, if you want." Teresa said. She was suddenly very nervous.  
  
"Nah, I got it." Ryan told her as he stared into the half empty refrigerator. God, the Cohen's refrigerator was never empty. It was always packed full, Ryan thought bitterly as he slammed the door shut and reached over for the cereal.  
  
Ryan looked around, and realized that Eva was no where to be found, again.  
  
"Where's your mother?" he asked.  
  
Teresa just shrugged and said,  
  
"Church."  
  
"Again." Ryan said. It was more of a statement. Eva was always at church.  
  
"Yeah, well," Teresa said, "She's still praying for us. You know, with the baby and all."  
  
Ryan only nodded. Eva had been avoiding him since he moved in. Apparently she no longer thought very highly of him. To Eva, he was the boy who knocked up her daughter in a one night stand. He was trash now, the same as all the other Atwoods.  
  
"What's she praying about this time?" Ryan asked.  
  
Teresa looked at Ryan for a minute before answering. She knew this was the chance she needed. Ryan may have thought he was only make small talk, but this was the opportunity Teresa was waiting for. Deep down she knew she should be honest with him and tell him she lost the baby, but she just couldn't. He would leave Chino. He would leave her. Again. She couldn't let him leave. She already lost her baby. She couldn't lose Ryan, too.  
  
"She's praying that we'll, um, get married soon," she lied..  
  
Ryan snorted a little. He should have known. Actually, he was surprised it took this long before the subject came up.  
  
"Well," he said, "She's going to have to keep praying. We can't get married right now."  
  
"Well, you know, she was figuring that with the baby and all, we'd get married soon." Teresa tried to explain.  
  
"Teresa," Ryan said, "We can't get married. We're not old enough."  
  
Teresa knew Ryan was getting annoyed, and she wasn't completely sure why. He had to have known the subject would come up eventually. And now that it has, his only excuse is that we're not old enough?  
  
"I was supposed to get married in June, remember?" she told him, "We're old enough."  
  
"Not without parental consent." Ryan told her.  
  
"But my mom already gave me permission to marry Eddie. She's not going to give us a problem about getting married." Teresa said.  
  
Ryan stared at her for a moment. He really didn't want to continue this conversation, but he knew she wouldn't let it drop.  
  
"And what am I supposed to do?" he asked her, "I just turned seventeen. I would also need consent."  
  
"I'm sure if you called the Cohens...." Teresa started to say, but Ryan cut her off.  
  
"I'm not asking them. I've asked enough from them. I can't ask them to come to Chino to sign permission for me to get married. We're just going to have to wait until we can do it alone."  
  
"But that's not until next year!" Teresa said.  
  
But Ryan only shrugged and walked away. He wasn't going to discuss it any further. He'd stay in Chino and give Teresa's baby his name, but he wasn't in any rush to marry her. And he certainly wasn't going to call Sandy or Kirsten and ask them for any more favors. Ryan sat in the chair with his back to Teresa and turned on the television. As he opened his beer and eat his cereal, he had hoped it would be the end of the conversation. He hated talking about the Cohens with anyone, but especially Teresa.  
  
Unfortunately, Teresa must have said something to Eva because she too started with Ryan about marriage over dinner that night.  
  
"I talked to Father Stan after Mass this morning," she said, "and he said that he could marry the two of you in a nice private ceremony the first weekend in August. We can then have a simple party here in the back yard. Teresa still won't be showing very much so none of our distant relatives will know. Wouldn't that be nice?"  
  
Ryan glared at Teresa before looking back at Eva.  
  
"I'm sorry, Eva," he started to explain, "But I've already told Teresa we can't get married right now. Not until next year."  
  
"Why?" Eva demanded, "Why not until next year? You didn't wait until next year before taking Teresa to bed with you. Why wait to marry her and make her an honest woman. Keep my grandchild from being born a bastard."  
  
"We're not old enough." Ryan said. He was trying not to lose his temper with Eva. He knew she was old fashioned and the whole situation was very upsetting to her, so he was trying to understand. Eva, on the other hand, wasn't going to be reasonable or understanding.  
  
"You were old enough to sleep together. You are old enough to get married. Those rich people you lived with can't say no. They know, too. They know that you two have made your bed, and now you have to lie in it. You need to call them, tell them that you're getting married the first weekend of August, and that they need to be here."  
  
Ryan took a deep breathe before answering Eva. He didn't want to scream at her. He wanted to scream at Teresa, and he would, later, after Eva went to bed. But for right now, he knew he had to talk to Eva.  
  
"I'm not calling them, Eva." Ryan tried to calmly explain, "and we're not getting married in August. We will get married next year, when we're both eighteen."  
  
Eva stared at Ryan for a minute before turning to Teresa,  
  
"See, Teresa, I told you." she started to yell, "I told you to stay with Eddie. He would marry you. He wanted to marry you. He would take care of you and your baby. But no, you had to go find Ryan, be with Ryan. And now look at you. An unwed pregnant whore!"  
  
Eva ran from the table, crying. Ryan sat very still waiting for the slamming of Eva's bedroom door before turning on Teresa.  
  
"Ryan," Teresa said, "I'm sorry. I....."  
  
"Save it," he shouted at her. "What, did you think your mother could fix everything? Demand that I marry you and that I would? Damn it, Teresa. What is the matter with you? I don't want to get married right now. Leave it alone. Christ, your mother didn't think too much of me before this, and now? How the hell am I supposed to live here with her now? How do you think she'd feel if she knew you were sleeping with me and Eddie at the same time, and that the baby was Eddie's? That I'm just here so you and the baby wouldn't be abused by him? I doubt she'd be in such a rush for you to marry Eddie then! Damn it, Teresa."  
  
"That's the only reason you're here?" Teresa asked. She always knew in her heart that was the case, but to have Ryan admit it hurt, a lot.  
  
Ryan didn't answer her. He just glared at her, confirming that what he said was true.  
  
"Well, then you know what," she shouted back, "Don't do me any favors. I don't need you here. Just get out. Go back to your snotty Newport family and your snotty Newport girlfriend. Get your ass out of my house! I don't need you."  
  
Ryan clenched his fist. For a split second he really wanted to hit Teresa. Hard. Everything he had done for her, everything the Cohens had done for her, and this is how she repays them. At that moment, he truly hated Teresa. And as they stood there glaring at each other, Ryan realized he needed to get out. Get out of the house and away from Teresa. He needed to clear his head, and decide what he should do next.  
  
Without another word, he stormed out of the house, slamming the door as he left. Ryan wasn't sure where he was going or what he was going to do. He just knew he needed to get out. He needed to call home. He needed to talk to Sandy. He really needed to just go home. 


	3. Trouble in the Park

Ryan wasn't sure how long he'd been walking around. He didn't have his watch on so he had no idea what time it was. It was dark out so he knew it was getting late.  
  
When he first left Teresa's house, he had planned on going down to the corner and calling Sandy. Then he realized he needed to calm down first and not call when he was so angry. Besides, he really didn't know what to say. All he really wanted to say was that he was tired and lonely and missed them. He wanted to admit that he made a mistake and just wanted to come home. But that didn't sound very mature, and besides that, Ryan wasn't really sure if they'd want him back. He hadn't spoken to them in over two months. He had no idea how they would feel if he just called out of the blue to say he wanted to come home. Ryan figured there was a good chance it wasn't his home anymore and the Cohens didn't want to be his family anymore, and once again, he'd have no one.  
  
So Ryan just walked. Walked off his anger at Teresa and at the mess that had become his life. After walking around for hours, Ryan found himself at the park, and decided it would probably be best if he crashed there for the night. In the morning, he'd go back to Teresa's, and they would figure out what they should do because Ryan knew they couldn't continue the way they were. He'd also call Sandy in the morning. He wanted to call Sandy now, but it was late. He didn't want to wake anyone up, and he knew the phone ringing so late would scare them. And he didn't want to scare them, not for nothing. It could wait.  
  
Ryan reached into his pocket for a cigarette. It would help calm him down. Unfortunately from behind him, he heard a familiar voice say,  
  
"Well, looky here. If it ain't Ryan Atwood."  
  
Ryan turned around to face the voice. The voice belonging to Eddie, and three of Eddie's friends. Ryan knew his night was about to get worse. A lot worse.  
  
"Eddie," Ryan said, trying to stay calm, "Hey. What's up?"  
  
"Hey yourself, Atwood. What brings you here?" Eddie snidely said, "Hum? Things not going so good with my girlfriend?"  
  
It was obvious that Eddie had been drinking. Hell, he was still holding a half empty beer bottle. Ryan knew when Eddie drank, he was violent. Really violent. Ryan also knew his options were severely limited as Eddie's three friends circled around him, making any chance of escape impossible.  
  
"Things are fine, Eddie," Ryan said, "How you doing man?"  
  
Ryan thought if he could get Eddie to talk, maybe he could get Eddie to remember that they were once good friends. Ryan was Trey's little brother. They used to all hang out together.  
  
Eddie snickered and then spat at Ryan,  
  
"Oh, things couldn't be better. Let's see, I lost my job, my apartment, my car, and oh yeah, my girlfriend. I lost my girlfriend. To you. And now I hear you two are going to have a baby. You know, she and I should be married now. We were supposed to get married last month. That should be my baby. Not yours. You just couldn't stay away. Let us be happy. No, you had to come back and ruin it for us."  
  
"Eddie, man," Ryan tried to explain, "I didn't ruin it for you. You did. You hit her. She left you because you hit her. I didn't have anything to do with that."  
  
"Shut up!" Eddie shouted as he smashed his beer bottle across the side of Ryan's head. "I warned you that if you ever came home, I'd kill you."  
  
Ryan was dazed and started to fall forward from the force of Eddie's blow, but two of Eddie's friends caught him and held him up. Eddie had talked about nothing else but getting even with Ryan for months, and they wanted to make sure Eddie enjoyed every minute of his revenge and Ryan didn't.  
  
Eddie looked Ryan over for a minute, trying to decide where he should start. He finally decided on punching Ryan in the face a number of times. He was tired of Ryan's pretty boy face, and wanted to make it not so pretty. He wanted it to be a face Teresa would no longer love. After breaking Ryan's nose and splitting open his lip, Eddie then began punching Ryan in the stomach. He wanted to make the kid puke. But Ryan never did. He didn't even moan or groan. He quietly took every punch Eddie threw at him, until Eddie was done and his friends let Ryan go.  
  
Even then, Ryan quietly fell to the ground. Eddie still couldn't make the kid cry out or moan or even groan. And that made Eddie mad, again. He began to kick Ryan, in the ribs, in the gut, in the back, anywhere he could, just to get Ryan to make a noise. Any kind of noise. Just to let Eddie know that he had won, that Ryan was sorry for what he had done. But damn if the kid didn't utter a sound. Even a year in fancy Newport Beach didn't soften Ryan Atwood.  
  
After one last hard kick to Ryan's back, Eddie spat on him and left. His friends followed him, congratulating him for kicking Ryan's ass so thoroughly, and leaving Ryan in an unconscious heap in the middle of the park.  
  
When he woke up, Ryan wasn't sure how long he'd be down on the ground. He tried to get up, but he couldn't. Everything hurt like hell. He knew he had some broken ribs and his nose was broken. Besides that, he wasn't sure what else was broken. He could taste the blood in his mouth from his lip, and he knew the blood was running down the side of his face from his head. He knew he was hurt, but he didn't know how he was going to get help. It had to be the middle of the night or early into the morning. No one was in the park and wouldn't be until the sun came up. Ryan didn't know what else to do but lie on the ground trying to get the strength to get up and out of the park. He closed his eyes, and passed out again.  
  
Ryan suddenly became very aware of a lot of movement around him. He was afraid Eddie and his friends were back so he tried to get up and fight, but he heard a man's voice say,  
  
"Hey, kid. Calm down. We're here to help you. Ok. Can you hear me? We're here to help you. Can you open your eyes?"  
  
Ryan opened his eyes to see two police officers leaning over him. For the first time in his life, Ryan was really happy to see the police.  
  
"Are you Ryan Atwood?" the one officer asked. He was holding Ryan's wallet, trying to identify the picture of Ryan in his driver's license to the kid laying in a bloody heap on the ground.  
  
Ryan could only nod his head and moan. He tried to get up so he could answer the policeman's questions, but the other officer stopped him.  
  
"Just stay put, Ryan. We've called for an ambulance. It should be here soon. Can you tell us what happened? Who attacked you?"  
  
"No, no ambulance. I'm ok. Just need to get up. Not Eddie's fault. My fault. Need to go home." Ryan moaned. He was having some trouble breathing.  
  
The one officer put his hand on Ryan's shoulder, trying to calm him as well as keep him from trying to get up.  
  
"No, kid. Don't try to move. You need to lay still until the ambulance gets here. You need to go to the hospital. Don't worry. It's going to be ok. You'll be ok. Now, can you tell us who Eddie is? Did he do this? What's Eddie's last name?"  
  
All Ryan could say was "No." He couldn't answer any more questions. He didn't have any more strength and as he began to slip back into the darkness, he heard the ambulance in the distance. He hated hospitals, but he knew he was going. Now he wasn't going to get the chance to call Sandy. Now he'd have to wait even longer to see if they even wanted to hear from him. 


	4. Calling the Cohens

Sandy lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling, thinking. Usually he did his best thinking while surfing, but lately, he had no desire to surf. It had been another long weekend, and it was the start of yet another long week. At least they had been able to talk to Seth the day before. He was doing well. Still enjoying Catalina. It wasn't Tahiti, but it wasn't Newport Beach either. Seth admitted though that he was a little home sick. Just not homesick for the way their lives were now, but homesick for the way it used to be, before Ryan left.  
  
Ryan. Sandy sighed. They still hadn't been able to get in touch with Ryan. Kirsten had tried again the night before, but Teresa said Ryan was out. She wouldn't say where, just that he was out. Since they weren't sure if Teresa was lying or not, all they could do was leave a message, again.  
  
Sandy reached over and touched Kirsten. He knew she was awake. But he also knew she wouldn't want to talk. Lately, she never wanted to talk. Not that Sandy could blame her. Over the course of one summer, she watched both her boys leave and watched her father go bankrupt and be arrested for fraud and numerous other charges. It had been a miserable summer. For both of them.  
  
Sandy jumped at the sound of the phone. So did Kirsten. It was only 5:30 in the morning. No good news every came from phone calls that early in the morning. Kirsten reached over and picked up the phone, but she handed it to Sandy to answer. She couldn't bare any more bad news.  
  
Sandy looked at her for a minute and then answered, preparing for bad news on someone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
He heard a man on the other end of the phone say,  
  
"Yes, hello. I'm looking for a Sanford Cohen, please."  
  
For some reason, Sandy nodded to the man in the phone before saying,  
  
"Yes. This is Sanford Cohen."  
  
"Mr. Cohen," the man said, "This is Officer Jim Greene from the Chino PD. We found your name on an insurance card belonging to a Ryan Atwood. Is he any relation to you?"  
  
Sandy swallowed hard. He couldn't speak for a moment. The police had Ryan's insurance card, which means they had Ryan's wallet. But where was Ryan?  
  
"He's my foster son." Sandy said, "Is he ok? Why do you have his insurance card? Where is he?"  
  
Officer Greene always hated to call the parents. He always struggled to find the right words when telling them a child had been injured.  
  
"Mr. Cohen," Officer Greene explained, "Your son was found early this morning in Prada Regional Park. In Chino. He was injured. In an accident."  
  
"What kind of accident?" Sandy demanded to know. "Where is he? Can I talk to him?"  
  
Officer Greene didn't really want to continue this conversation over the phone, especially since he knew the family was an hour away.  
  
"Ryan's been taken to Chino Valley Medical Center. The doctors are with him now. I would suggest that you get down here as quickly as possible."  
  
"Why? Is he...? He isn't..." Sandy couldn't even get the words out.  
  
"No. He's not. But he has been badly beaten." Officer Greene quickly said, realizing that he had given Mr. Cohen the wrong idea.  
  
"Mr. Cohen," Officer Greene continued, "Please, if you could just come down to Chino, we can explain everything to you then."  
  
Sandy again nodded to the phone, and finally looked at Kirsten before saying,  
  
"My wife and I will be there within the hour."  
  
Kirsten was frantically getting her clothes out. She didn't know what was wrong. She just knew something had happened to Ryan. When she saw Sandy put the phone down, she finally asked,  
  
"Sandy. What's wrong? What happened to Ryan? Where is he?"  
  
Sandy looked at her and told her,  
  
"Chino Valley Medical Center. The police found him in the park. He's been beaten up."  
  
"Bad?" Kirsten asked.  
  
Sandy stared at Kirsten for a minute, wanting to tell her it would be ok, that Ryan would be ok, but he had no idea if that were true. He seriously doubted it was true so he told her, "Bad enough to be in the hospital, and knowing Ryan's dislike for the hospital, I'd guess that would be pretty bad. We better hurry. I told the Officer we'd be there in an hour."  
  
They both dressed quickly. As they left for Chino, Kirsten began to rant about how she knew it was a bad idea to let him go off to Chino. She knew something bad would happen. She just knew it. And now she just wanted Ryan to come home.  
  
At first, Sandy didn't try to stop Kirsten's ranting. He agreed that Ryan needed to come home, and he knew that no matter what Ryan said, Sandy was bringing him home. It was time for Ryan to stop trying to be the adult, and it was high time Sandy put his foot down and acted like the parent.  
  
"I knew it. I just knew it. I knew letting him go back to Chino was a mistake." Kirsten said for the third time in less then ten minutes.  
  
"Kirsten," Sandy said, "We had to let him go. He felt he needed to do this."  
  
"And we just let him go, and now look!" Kirsten continued, "We haven't heard from him in over two months, and now he's in the hospital. We have no idea how badly he's hurt. We don't know anything!"  
  
Sandy reached over to squeeze her hand, but Kirsten pulled it away. She was in full ranting mode, and she wasn't about to let Sandy placate her. Sandy put his hand back on the steering wheel and tried again to talk to her,  
  
"We know he's alive, and we know where he is. We'll be there soon enough to see for ourselves how badly he's been hurt."  
  
Kirsten looked at Sandy and asked,  
  
"You know who did this, don't you?"  
  
Sandy shrugged,  
  
"Well, I have my suspicions, but we don't know for sure."  
  
"Of course we know!" Kirsten said, "It was Eddie. You know it, and I know it. He swore that if Ryan ever went back to Chino, he was dead, and we just let him go."  
  
"Ryan felt he needed to go back." Sandy tried to explain, again, "He needed to be there with Teresa. Be there for the baby. It was his decision. He chose to go to Chino."  
  
Sandy didn't know why they were having this conversation, again. They had already gone over it again and again during the past two months. Unfortunately, now that Ryan had been hurt, Kirsten was ready to go into it again.  
  
"Well, this is no longer Ryan's choice." Kirsten continued, in full rant, "He's still a minor, and we're still the adults. From now on, we're making the choices, and I chose for Ryan to come home. Now."  
  
"And what happens if Ryan doesn't want to come home? Then what?" Sandy asked.  
  
Kirsten stared at Sandy. She couldn't believe what he was saying. Yes, he always defended his reasons for letting Ryan leave, but now it was different. Now, Ryan was hurt and in the hospital. She glared at Sandy before asking him,  
  
"Are you saying that if Ryan wants to stay in Chino after this that you'll support him?"  
  
Sandy finally laughed a little. He realized that by continuing the same old argument, he was giving Kirsten the wrong idea.  
  
"Hell no!" he told her, "Ryan's coming home. I'm just saying that if you go in there yelling and screaming and telling Ryan what he's going to do, he'll do the complete opposite. Then we'll really have a battle on our hands getting him to come back. Remember, he's spent the past two months, hell most of his life, being the adult. If we go in there and treat him like a little kid, he's going to resent it. And us."  
  
"So, what do you suggest?" Kirsten asked, "We asked him to stay before, and he said no. What if he says no again?"  
  
Sandy reached over and attempted to squeeze Kirsten's hand again. This time, though, she let him.  
  
"I'm not going to let him say no. Look, I was all set to go down to Chino this afternoon to talk to him anyway. At least now I'll have the advantage of him being in a hospital bed. It's less likely he'll walk away from me!" Sandy attempted to make light of the situation.  
  
"Very funny." Kirsten told him, "I just want him to come home."  
  
"He will. I promise." Sandy told her, as he drove just a little faster to the hospital, and to Ryan. 


	5. The Hospital

Ryan was only vaguely aware of all the commotion and attention being paid to him. He felt the oxygen mask over his face. He heard them say something about it helping him breath, but it didn't. He couldn't breath through his nose, and he had such a crushing feeling in his chest. He knew they had started an IV, because he felt that familiar jab of the needle, and he also heard them say something about it. It was really painful when they moved him onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. It was the first time Ryan actually cried out. He didn't want to move. It hurt too much. But they apologized to him and told him to hold on; they'd get him to the hospital as quickly as possible.  
  
He heard someone talking to the hospital. Seventeen year old white male, multiple injuries, victim of attack. Thankfully, he also heard them confirm that they could give him some morphine. He liked morphine. It always took the edge off his multiple injuries.  
  
They got to the hospital pretty fast or so Ryan thought. The morphine was beginning to help. His whole body still hurt a lot, but he cared a little less now. He was still having trouble breathing, and he hoped the doctors would be able to fix that soon. Ryan wanted to laugh when they got into the hospital. There was such a sudden flurry of activity and people all around him, shouting medical terms and procedures. Ryan couldn't help but think he should have paid better attention to that medical show Kirsten liked to watch. Then maybe he could understand what they were talking about.  
  
He understood some things. Collapsed lung. He understood that. He understood the term fracture, but not much else. He was well aware of the fact they were removing his clothes. Didn't like that too much. Dip a urine? Well, that didn't sound good. Lavage? Negative. That's a good thing, right? He was aware every time someone pried his eyes open and stuck a light in his face. And someone kept touching his face. He didn't like that. It hurt. He got stuck with more needles. They obviously needed blood, but couldn't they just get it off his face? He knew his face was covered with it. He heard something about a chest tube, and felt someone jabbing at his side. Again, he didn't like that. Portable x-rays, CAT scan, MRI. All kinds of medical procedures that Ryan had no clue how he was going to pay for.  
  
He also heard them shouting at him. He really hated that. Didn't they see Eddie had hit him in the head with a bottle? They really needed to stop yelling. He had a headache.  
  
"Ryan?" someone shouted, "Ryan, can you hear me? Open your eyes, Ryan."  
  
"Can't breath." Ryan finally said. He still didn't want to open his eyes. It hurt, but if he could answer them, then maybe they'd stop yelling.  
  
"You have a collapsed lung and some rib fractures, Ryan. That's why you're having trouble breathing. We've put in a chest tube. That should help you breath." the voice said, "Ryan, can you tell me where you are?"  
  
"Hospital." Ryan answered. He wanted to add "duh" but he couldn't get the word out. He'd talked enough, he wanted to go back to sleep.  
  
"Which hospital?" The voice asked.  
  
Honestly, Ryan could care less which hospital, just as long as they fixed him up and let him go home.  
  
"Don't know." he said.  
  
"You're in Chino Valley, Ryan," the voice told him, "You're not in Newport Beach right now. Is that where you're from Ryan, Newport Beach?"  
  
Ryan from Newport Beach. Ryan from Newport Beach. Yeah, he liked that. They thought he was from Newport Beach. No wonder he was getting a lot of attention. He was Ryan from Newport Beach. He smiled slightly at the thought before falling asleep again.  
  
Ryan wasn't sure how long he slept for. When he woke up, he was in a hospital room, alone. It was sunny out, so it was obviously daytime. His chest was wrapped, and he had bandages on his face. He figured they had stitched up his forehead and lip. He knew there wasn't much they could do about his nose. It wasn't the first time it had been broken. He already knew the routine. He also noticed a lot of tubes and wires attached to various parts of his body.  
  
He was still taking inventory of all the bandages, bruises, tubes, wires and whatnots when his door opened. He looked up to see a police officer and someone who he could only assume was a doctor. It was this guy who spoke first,  
  
"You're awake. Good. Good to see. I'm Dr. Bollard. How are you feeling?"  
  
"Ok." Ryan said. He really felt like hell. Everything hurt. But he wanted to get out and go home as quickly as possible, so he lied.  
  
"You do? Hum. That's amazing. You should feel like crap." Dr. Bollard said, with a smile.  
  
Great, just what I need, Ryan thought, a doctor with a Seth-like sense of humor.  
  
Dr. Bollard didn't say much more as he started his examination of Ryan. Ryan could only grunt whenever Dr. Bollard poked or pushed on him, and Dr. Bollard would only say a quick sorry. Ryan doubted he was sorry. He was just doing his job, but his job was hurting Ryan.  
  
Meanwhile, the police officer stood quietly to the side. Ryan knew he was going to have to talk to him next, when he was done with the doctor. He dreaded that more then the doctor's exam.  
  
"When can I get out of here?" Ryan finally asked.  
  
"Soon. Maybe a day or two." Dr. Bollard said, "Your family should be here shortly, and we can discuss it then."  
  
Great. Like he wasn't feeling bad enough. Now he'd have to deal with Eva and Teresa. Again. Eva didn't already hate him enough. Now this. Well, at least looking as bad as he figured he looked, Ryan knew they wouldn't push him any more about getting married in August.  
  
"Ok, I'm done here for now." Dr. Bollard explained, "There are a few more tests I'd like to run, but again, once your family gets here, we can go into more detail. I believe Officer Greene would like to talk to you, and then the nurse will be in to give you something for the pain. I'll see you again when your family is here."  
  
Dr. Bollard left, leaving Ryan alone with the cop. Officer Greene. That's what Dr. Bollard said.  
  
"Hi, Ryan." This Officer Greene said, "It's good to see you again."  
  
Ryan only looked at Officer Greene, confused. He didn't remember ever seeing this Officer Greene before. He hoped it wasn't from the year before, when he and Trey were arrested for stealing that car.  
  
But Officer Greene answered Ryan's unasked question, "My partner and I were the ones who found you in the park earlier. Can you tell me what you were doing there? In the park? In the middle of the night? Did someone dump you there?"  
  
Ryan only nodded. He didn't want to be rude or disrespectful, especially since it was this Officer Greene and his partner who found Ryan and helped him. But he also knew he couldn't tell the cops anything about what happened. You never told the cops what happened. It was asking for more trouble. A lot more trouble.  
  
"I don't remember." Ryan lied. He figured he'd work the head injury angle, pretend he didn't know or remember who attacked him.  
  
"Well, do you remember what you were doing in the park? In Chino?" Officer Greene asked.  
  
"No, I'm sorry. I really don't remember." Ryan lied, again.  
  
Officer Greene just nodded for a moment before asking,  
  
"Who's Eddie?"  
  
"Eddie?" Ryan asked. Damn, what did he say when they found him? Did he tell them about Eddie?  
  
"Yes, Eddie." Officer Greene answered. "You said it wasn't Eddie's fault. Is Eddie the guy who did this?"  
  
"Um. Eddie. Eddie is my brother." Ryan again lied.  
  
"Your brother? Your brother attacked you? Is your brother here in Chino, too?" Officer Greene could tell Ryan was lying. He just didn't know why. Why would a rich kid from Newport Beach be here in Chino, and why would he lie about being attacked in the park?  
  
Ryan just shook his head, before lying again,  
  
"No. No. My brother didn't attack me. Really, I don't know who attacked me. I didn't see their face. I don't know who it was."  
  
It was obvious to Officer Greene that he was getting nowhere with Ryan. He'd have to wait for the parents to get there and then try again. He shut his notebook and put his pen away before telling Ryan,  
  
"Ok then. I guess that's all I have for now. I'll leave you my card. If you think of anything, please call. I'll stop by again later to see if maybe your memory improves with some rest. Maybe something will come back to you."  
  
Ryan thanked this Officer Greene. He didn't mean to make the guy's job any harder. He just knew he couldn't tell him what really happened.  
  
The nurse came in, as Officer Greene was getting ready to leave. She smiled at him before injecting something into his IV.  
  
"There. That should help with the pain. You should feel a lot better shortly." She said with a smile.  
  
Ryan closed his eyes and waited for the morphine to kick in. He knew he was going to need that morphine once Teresa and Eva got there, and he'd have to deal with them, too. He just hoped they didn't call Sandy or Kirsten. They definitely didn't need to know about this. Leaving them was hard enough. Having them know he was hurt was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. When he was well and his injuries were healed, he would call them. If they knew he was hurt, they might let him come home simply because they felt sorry for him. That thought was more then he could bear. He didn't want anyone feeling sorry for him, least of all Sandy and Kirsten. 


	6. Seeing Sandy

Officer Greene walked out of Ryan's room, just shaking his head. He knew there was much more to the story than Ryan was telling him. As he turned to leave, he noticed Dr. Bollard talking to a couple and knew immediately that they had to be there for Ryan. One look at them and Officer Greene could tell; they weren't from Chino.  
  
He walked over to them and listened quietly as Dr. Bollard explained Ryan's injuries. The concussion, the broken nose, bruised kidney, fractured ribs, collapsed lung, facial lacerations, and the many other contusions. He hoped with the laundry list of injuries that Dr. Bollard was presenting them; they would recognize the severity of the situation and get Ryan to tell them who attacked him. When he was done listing the injuries and explaining the treatment plain and tests he wanted to run, Dr. Bollard turned to Officer Greene and introduced him,  
  
"Mr. and Mrs. Cohen, this is Officer Jim Greene. He and his partner are the two who found Ryan in the park."  
  
"Mr. Cohen," he said, as he shook Sandy's hand, "We spoke on the phone this morning. I'm sorry to have called so early, but we wanted to locate you as quickly as possible."  
  
"No apology needed. We're just thankful to you for finding Ryan. For helping him. You and your partner both. Thank you." Kirsten said as she too shook Officer Greene's hand. "Has Ryan said anything to you about what happened? Who attacked him? What he was doing in the park in the middle of the night."  
  
"Unfortunately, no. I haven't been able to get very much out of Ryan." Officer Greene explained to them, "He keeps claiming that he doesn't remember. The only bit of information we did get from him was when we first found him. He said that it wasn't Eddie's fault. Now he won't tell us who Eddie is. Claims Eddie is his brother."  
  
Kirsten looked at Sandy and told him,  
  
"I knew it was Eddie. See, I knew it."  
  
Officer Greene took his pad and pen out. He figured he'd be able to get more information from the parents.  
  
"And I take it this Eddie is not Ryan's brother?" He asked.  
  
"No. Seth is." Sandy said, "Eddie is a kid that Ryan has had trouble with in the past. Unfortunately, we don't know Eddie's last name."  
  
"Santos." They heard someone say from behind them.  
  
"Eddie Santos." Teresa said as she approached the group.  
  
Officer Greene looked at the young woman who approached them and asked,  
  
"And you are?"  
  
"Teresa. Teresa DeLaCruz. I'm a......friend of Ryan's." She told the officer.  
  
Officer Greene looked from Teresa to the Cohens. At least now someone could give him the information he needed.  
  
"Were you there? Did you see the attack?" he asked Teresa.  
  
"I didn't see it," she told them, "But Eddie called me this morning. Told me that he found Ryan, and if I wanted to find Ryan, I should look here. Told me that Ryan wasn't so pretty anymore, and that maybe now I would love him instead. I didn't have to see the attack. Eddie told me he and his friends did it. Is Ryan ok?"  
  
Kirsten put her arm around Teresa and told her,  
  
"He will be. Don't worry. He'll be fine. In time. How are you?"  
  
Teresa only nodded. She wasn't fine. She was a wreck, but she doubted the Cohens were really interested in how she was doing. She knew they were there for Ryan. She was, too. But because it was her fault. All of it was her fault, and she knew she needed to make it right.  
  
"Miss?" Officer Greene said, interrupting her thoughts, "Can you give me the names and addresses of Eddie's friends, and the address of Eddie, as well as any information that you think may be helpful?"  
  
Teresa again nodded. Officer Greene walked her over to a row of chairs to take her statement, and Kirsten went with them. She wanted to know what Teresa knew. She nodded at Sandy, who excused himself. They didn't need him at that moment, so he wanted to go in and see Ryan. He needed to go see Ryan. They needed to talk.  
  
Sandy opened the door to Ryan's room quietly. Dr. Bollard said they had given Ryan something for the pain and Ryan might be asleep, and as much as Sandy wanted to talk to him, he knew Ryan would probably be better off sleeping. Sandy was surprised when he walked in and saw Ryan look at him. But not nearly as surprised as Ryan was to see Sandy.  
  
"Hey," Ryan asked, "What are you doing here?"  
  
At first, Sandy found it hard to look at Ryan. His face was so bruised, so battered. But looking at him made Sandy more determined than ever that Ryan was coming home. Kirsten was right. This was no longer Ryan's choice.  
  
"The hospital called us," he told Ryan, "We are still your guardians."  
  
"But how did they know?" Ryan asked. He couldn't figure out how they would know to call his guardians in Newport Beach.  
  
Sandy shrugged and told him,  
  
"Apparently, you never changed the information in your wallet. They traced us through that, I guess. How are you doing?"  
  
"I'm ok," Ryan told him, "It looks worse than I feel. You know, painkillers."  
  
Sandy sighed. He should have guessed Ryan would try to shrug it off.  
  
"Well, it looks pretty bad," he informed Ryan, "But the doctor says you'll be ok. You just need a lot of rest, and you should be back on your feet in no time."  
  
It finally dawned on Ryan what the doctor was talking about. "When your family gets here." They meant Sandy. That's why they called him Ryan from Newport Beach, and why Officer Greene couldn't figure out why he would be in a Chino park after dark. He still had Newport Beach listed as his home address, which meant they would call Sandy and Kirsten, not Teresa and Eva.  
  
"So, when can I get out of here?" Ryan asked. He knew the doctors would have given Sandy that kind of information.  
  
"It looks like maybe tomorrow. The doctor wants to keep you under observation for a little bit and run a few more tests, and then they'll release you to our care." Sandy told him.  
  
Ryan looked at Sandy and asked,  
  
"Your care?"  
  
Sandy nodded. Here we go, Sandy thought.  
  
"Yes, Ryan." he told him, "Our care. You're coming home with us. To Newport."  
  
"Sandy..." Ryan started to say, before being cut off by Sandy,  
  
"Forget it, Ryan. You're coming home with us. I'm not arguing with you about it. We tried it your way and look what happened. Now you're doing this our way. You're coming back to Newport to recover. When the baby is born in the fall, we'll address it then, but until then you're coming back to Newport."  
  
It actually sounded good to Ryan, but he didn't want to be a burden to them. He couldn't impose on them. Not now. If he went back now, they would have to take care of him, and he didn't want that. He didn't want them feeling sorry for him.  
  
"Look, Sandy," Ryan started, "Kirsten doesn't need that. This. Me. I read about Caleb. I know he's in trouble. You guys don't need to deal with all of this, too. I'll just go back to Teresa's. I'll be ok. Really."  
  
Suddenly Sandy found himself getting angry. He didn't want to get mad. He didn't want to fight with Ryan, but he knew he needed to get through to Ryan. And if fighting with him was the only way, then he was willing to yell at an injured kid.  
  
"No, Ryan!" he said, "You're not. We haven't heard from you since you left. Over two months ago. You didn't return any of our calls. Never came home to check in. Nothing. How do you think Kirsten felt? How I felt? Don't tell me what we need and don't need! You're coming back to Newport with us. That's it. That's final. And believe me, right now, Kirsten needs her family. Her entire family, and that means you, too."  
  
Ryan was quiet for a minute. He didn't like seeing Sandy mad, especially at him. He wanted nothing more then to just go home, and knowing they still wanted him made him very happy, as well as very relieved. He wouldn't argue about going home. He would just make sure when he got there, he spent as much time in the pool house as possible so he didn't bother any of them.  
  
"Ok." he said, quietly. He was starting to get tired again and closed his eyes. Hopefully, Sandy wouldn't want to continue to talk. He agreed to leave Chino and go back to Newport. He hoped that would be enough talking for right now. But then he realized something. He couldn't just leave Teresa alone in Chino, not with her mother pushing her back to Eddie. He opened his eyes and asked Sandy,  
  
"But what about Teresa? What happens if she goes back to Eddie? Then what do I do?"  
  
Again Sandy sighed. Even beaten and battered, Ryan was still thinking about someone else.  
  
"If she chooses to go back to Eddie after he's released," Sandy explained, "then that is her choice. You can't stop her from going back to him if that is what she wants. And if it appears that the baby will be in any kind of danger, then we will file for custody."  
  
Ryan shook his head, "I can't ask you guys to do that."  
  
"You didn't ask, so we don't need to talk about it right now." Sandy said.  
  
Ryan recognized the tone. He knew there were times to argue with Sandy, and times when it wasn't really a good idea to argue with him. This was one of those times when Ryan knew not to argue with him. Instead he laid his head back and again closed his eyes. But opened them again when he realized something,  
  
"Wait," he said, "What do you mean when Eddie gets released?"  
  
"From jail," Sandy told him, "For assault. Battery, and whatever else they come up with."  
  
It must have been the morphine or something, because Ryan really couldn't follow what Sandy was talking about. So he asked,  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For you. For attacking you." Sandy said.  
  
Ryan shook his head and informed Sandy,  
  
"I'm not pressing charges."  
  
"No?" Sandy told him, "Well, I am."  
  
Ryan began to panic. Sandy didn't understand.  
  
"No, Sandy. Don't. You can't." Ryan told him.  
  
"Yes I can, and I am. I am still your guardian. You are still a minor, and I can still call the shots. He attacked you. Severely beat you. Broke your ribs, your nose, punctured your lung, gave you a concussion. Do I need to go on? I am pressing charges. Against Eddie and his friends."  
  
"No, Sandy, listen," Ryan tried to explain, "You can't press charges. It doesn't work that way here. Eddie was mad. About Teresa and me. He was just getting even. He made his point. Now we just move on."  
  
"Well, he's moving on to jail," Sandy informed him, "That's how it works in Newport. Someone beats you severely enough to send you to the hospital, then you press charges."  
  
"Sandy, if you do that, then I'll never be able to come back to Chino." Ryan said.  
  
Sandy shrugged and told him,  
  
"Exactly."  
  
Ryan was getting really tired and was still really sore, and he didn't really want to continue this fight with Sandy so he just told him,  
  
"Fine. But I'm not giving you their names." Without their names, there was nothing the cops could do, Ryan knew that much.  
  
"You don't have to. Teresa did." Sandy said.  
  
"Sandy...." Ryan again started, but he was too tired. He knew he was wasting his time with this argument. Sandy was in no mood to listen to him, so for right now, Ryan had to let it go.  
  
This time when he closed his eyes, he fell asleep. And Sandy sat there and watched him. 


	7. Teresa Comes Clean

After Officer Greene finished taking Teresa's statement, he explained to Mrs. Cohen that he would complete the necessary paperwork as soon as possible, and then would need one of them to come down to the police station and sign a complaint. They would make every effort to pick up Eddie and his friends as quickly as possible, and would notify them as soon as the arrests were made. When his partner returned, Officer Greene said goodbye to Teresa and Mrs. Cohen and left.  
  
Since Sandy still hadn't come out of Ryan's room, Kirsten thought it would be better if she stayed and talked to Teresa. Although she was curious to know how Sandy's talk was going with Ryan, she thought it would be a good idea to talk to Teresa and tell her that Ryan was going back to Newport. She wanted Teresa to know that they would do anything to support her and the baby, but that they felt it was for the best if Ryan returned to Newport.  
  
"Hey," Kirsten said as she sat down next to Teresa and put her arm around her, "How are you holding up? How are you feeling?"  
  
Teresa just sighed. She was tired and didn't really feel like talking to Mrs. Cohen. She knew she had to, though. She knew she owed them that at least.  
  
"I'm fine. Just. Sorry. So sorry about all of this." she said, fighting back her tears.  
  
"Teresa," Kirsten said, softly, "This isn't your fault. None of this is your fault. You can't beat yourself up over it. It's not good for you or the baby."  
  
"There is no baby." Teresa said quickly. She wanted to get this over with.  
  
Kirsten just stared at Teresa for a minute. She wasn't sure exactly what Teresa was getting at.  
  
"Excuse me?" she asked.  
  
"There is no baby," Teresa said again, "Not anymore. I miscarried. Last week."  
  
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry." Kirsten said, "But why didn't Ryan say anything? Call and tell us."  
  
Teresa looked away before saying,  
  
"Ryan doesn't know."  
  
"Excuse me?" Kirsten asked for the second time.  
  
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cohen." Teresa said, "I haven't said anything to Ryan yet. After I lost the baby, I knew. I knew Ryan would leave me. Again. I didn't want him to leave. So I didn't say anything to him. Then last night we had a huge fight, and he stormed out of the house, and now he's in the hospital. It's all my fault. I made him come back to Chino. I knew how Eddie felt about Ryan. I knew if he found Ryan, he would hurt him. If I had just told Ryan last week, none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry. I can't say that enough. I just couldn't lose Ryan again."  
  
"Honey," Kirsten said, "I know you were scared, but did you think this through? I mean it would have been pretty obvious after a while that you weren't going to have a baby. What do you think Ryan would have done when he found out you lied? At least if you told him the truth, you two could still maintain your friendship. Newport is not that far away. You could come and visit anytime you wanted. You are always welcome at our house."  
  
Teresa started to cry. Mrs. Cohen had no right to be nice to her. She should be furious. She should be yelling, screaming, calling her names.  
  
"I just couldn't bear the thought of Ryan going back to Newport and leaving me alone in Chino again." Teresa told her softly.  
  
Kirsten reached into her purse for some tissues. As she handed them to Teresa, she told her,  
  
"Ryan is going back to Newport. Sandy and I were bringing him home after this, even if you were still pregnant. Ryan needs to come home now. He needs to be with his family. And Teresa, we are his family."  
  
Teresa smiled through her tears, "I know. Now. If it helps, Ryan's been pretty miserable since he came back to Chino. He missed you guys. A lot."  
  
Kirsten smiled, "It helps to know he missed us. But not knowing he was miserable. Hopefully it will be easy for Sandy to convince Ryan to come home. I don't hear any shouting coming from Ryan's room, so I can assume it's going good."  
  
"Once he finds out there is no baby, and that I lied, believe me, you won't have any trouble getting him to go home." Teresa told her. "I just hope he can forgive me."  
  
"He will," Kirsten told her, "I've noticed that Ryan tends to be a very forgiving person. So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to go back to school?"  
  
Teresa finally looked at Mrs. Cohen. She actually sounded like she cared. Teresa couldn't believe after everything that happened, Mrs. Cohen would actually care.  
  
"My mother and I talked last night, after Ryan left. I told her everything, and we decided it would be for the best if I went to Atlanta. My cousin lives in Atlanta, and she said I could still come as long as I pay my own way. As soon as we can come up with the money, I'm going to leave. Start over."  
  
"How much do you need?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"No, Mrs. Cohen, I can't." Teresa told her, "I can't ask you to do that."  
  
Kirsten just smiled and patted her hand, "You didn't ask. I offered. You deserve the chance to start over, and I want to be able to help. You are important to Ryan, and I know he'd want you to have the chance to start over."  
  
Teresa didn't say anything as she watched Mrs. Cohen take out her checkbook and write out a check.  
  
"I hope this is enough." Kirsten said as she handed the check to Teresa.  
  
Teresa looked down at the check and couldn't believe it. It was made out to Teresa, and it was for six thousand dollars.  
  
"No, Mrs. Cohen. This is too much. My cousin said I only need like two thousand. I can't accept this." Teresa said as she attempted to hand Mrs. Cohen back the check.  
  
But Kirsten just smiled. "Keep it." she told her, "Start over in Atlanta and be happy. Just promise me that you'll keep in touch. Let us know how you're doing. Ok?"  
  
Again, Teresa found herself crying. It was clearly easy to see how Ryan could become so attached to these people.  
  
"I don't know how or when I can repay you. You've been so good to me, and now, this. Thank you. I just wish there was something I could do to repay you. To thank you."  
  
Kirsten again just smiled, "Just take care of yourself. Be good to yourself. You deserve it."  
  
"I can give you my car." Teresa said quickly, "I can't take it with me so I was going to sell it anyway. That's all I have that's worth anything. Ryan could take it."  
  
It was obvious to Kirsten that just wanting Teresa to be happy wasn't enough. Teresa couldn't just accept the money as a gift. She needed to give them something back. Honestly, all Kirsten wanted was Ryan home, but if Teresa needed to give them something else before accepting the money, then Kirsten would accept her car as payment.  
  
"Ok. If your mother doesn't need it, I'm sure Ryan and Seth would appreciate a car of their own. I'll buy your car. But you still need to promise me that you'll keep in touch. Deal?" Kirsten told her.  
  
"Deal." Teresa told her as she folded the check and put it into her pocket.  
  
"Do you think it would be ok if I saw Ryan? I need to talk to him. Tell him the truth," she said.  
  
"Well," Kirsten joked, "I still don't hear any yelling coming from Ryan's room. Either he and Sandy are having a glaring contest, or Sandy has grounded him from ever speaking again."  
  
Teresa laughed, not so much at the lame joke, but at the idea that anyone would ground Ryan. As far as Teresa knew, Ryan had never been grounded in his entire life. No one ever cared enough. He really did have a real family now. Teresa knew that now. Finally knew why he had been so miserable back in Chino and knew that he would have never been happy in Chino again.  
  
Kirsten put her arm around Teresa as they both walked into Ryan's room. They saw Sandy staring at Ryan, and saw that Ryan was asleep.  
  
"Oh, God, Sandy, he looks so..." Kirsten couldn't come up with the correct words to explain how Ryan looked. Beaten, battered, bruised, injured, young, vulnerable.  
  
"I know," Sandy told her, "But we talked. He's ok, or he will be after he's home."  
  
"So he is coming home. No arguments?" Kirsten asked.  
  
Sandy laughed, "Well, I wouldn't say no arguments. Not really arguments. Discussions. But yes, he is coming home. I told you, I wasn't going to let him say no again."  
  
At the sound of voices, Ryan's eyes began to flutter and then open. He smiled at the sight of Kirsten,  
  
"Hey, I didn't know you were here, too. I thought just Sandy came." he told her, "Is Seth here, too?"  
  
Kirsten just shook her head, "No. Just us." she told him.  
  
Ryan couldn't help but be disappointed.  
  
"Oh, so I guess he's still mad." he said.  
  
Kirsten walked over to the side of Ryan's bed and brushed the hair out of his eyes.  
  
"No, sweetie," she told him, "He's not mad. He just. Wasn't home."  
  
She knew that this wasn't the time to tell Ryan that Seth had run away. Gone to Catalina for the summer. She wanted Ryan and Teresa to talk, and then she wanted Ryan to rest. There was plenty of time for them to talk. Kirsten looked at Sandy and motioned for him to follow her out.  
  
She smiled at Ryan and told him, "We'll be right back, sweetie. There's some paperwork we need to finish."  
  
After the Cohens left, Teresa got her first chance to see how seriously Ryan was hurt, and looking at him, she was immediately sick to her stomach.  
  
"Ryan," she started to cry, again, "I am so sorry. This is all my fault."  
  
Ryan quickly told her, "No, it's not. You didn't do this to me."  
  
Teresa continued to cry. It was her fault, and she told him,  
  
"But Eddie did this to you because of me. If I had just stayed with him....."  
  
"Then he would have done this to you." Ryan interrupted her, "And he still may. Why did you give Sandy their names? You know what they'll do. You shouldn't have done that."  
  
"I'm not going to let him get away with this," she told him, "Besides, he can't hurt me if he can't find me."  
  
"Find you?" Ryan asked.  
  
Teresa let out a big sigh. She wanted to get this conversation over as quickly as possible.  
  
"I'm going to go to Atlanta. Start over with my cousin. She said I could still come if I wanted." she told him.  
  
Again, Ryan wondered if the morphine was making it hard to understand what people were telling him. Atlanta?  
  
"But what about the baby?" he asked her, "I thought you wanted to be with your mom because of the baby."  
  
Teresa couldn't look Ryan in the face. Had she told him the truth last week, none of this would have happened.  
  
"Ryan," she started, "I'm not. There's not going to be a baby. I miscarried."  
  
Ryan tried to sit up. He wanted to comfort Teresa, but it hurt too much. All he could do was say,  
  
"Because of all of this? Teresa, I'm sorry."  
  
"No, Ryan. Not because of this. I. I miscarried last week." Teresa said quickly. She knew she needed to get this over with.  
  
Ryan was quiet for a minute, trying to take in exactly what Teresa was saying. She miscarried a week ago. A week. And she didn't say a word to him about it. She and her mother tried to push him into marriage because of the baby, and the whole time she knew there wasn't going to be a baby!  
  
"Why?" was all Ryan could think to say.  
  
And again Teresa began to cry,  
  
"I knew how unhappy you were in Chino, and if you knew about the baby you would have left. Again. I didn't want to lose you again. I'm sorry. Really, I am. Look, I know you're going back to Newport. Mrs. Cohen told me that. All I can say is I'm sorry."  
  
Ryan again grew quiet. He had nothing more to say to her, until he suddenly thought of something,  
  
"And how are you getting to Atlanta? Where did you get the money?" Ryan demanded.  
  
He could guess what the answer was. They both had minimum wage jobs. Hell, Ryan had two, and they still never seemed to have enough money. They couldn't make ends meet, and yet suddenly Teresa had the two grand to move to Atlanta.  
  
When she wouldn't look him in the face, Ryan knew. She took the money from the Cohens.  
  
Teresa quickly said, "It doesn't matter where it came from, Ryan. I have it, and now I can go to Atlanta. Start over. And you can go back to Newport. With the Cohens. I'll miss you. I just hope some day you can forgive me."  
  
And with that, Teresa left. She had nothing more to say. Nothing that Ryan wanted to hear. He couldn't believe what had happened, what she told him. He was willing to give up everything to protect her, to raise her baby as his own, and she lied to him. She lied. 


	8. Kirsten's Turn

Ryan didn't know how long he lay in bed, fuming over what Teresa had done, what she had told him before he finally fell asleep again. He also had no idea how long he slept. When he woke up, he saw Kirsten sitting in a chair, reading a magazine. She smiled when she saw that he was awake again. It would finally be her turn to talk to him.  
  
"Hey, sweetie," she said, "You're awake. How do you feel?"  
  
Ryan could only think to say, "Ok." before adding,  
  
"She lied. There isn't going to be any baby. She lied."  
  
"I know. She told me." Kirsten said, softly, "Ryan, I'm sorry. I know this has to be hard for you, but she was scared. I know it was wrong, but I can understand why she lied. She was afraid of losing you. I know how she feels. You're pretty hard to get over."  
  
Ryan just stared at Kirsten for a second. He'd never consider himself hard to get over.  
  
"Tell that to Dawn. Or Trey." he finally said.  
  
Kirsten brushed the hair out of Ryan's face. He really needed a good haircut.  
  
"I don't know about them," she told him, "But I do know how hard it was for me. And Sandy. And Seth. And Marissa. And Summer. We all missed you. A lot. And I'm glad you're finally coming home."  
  
Ryan didn't know what to say. It was still hard for him to believe that he could possibly mean so much to people who have only known him for a year.  
  
Lucky for him, he didn't have to answer Kirsten. A nurse came in to change his IV. She also gave him another shot of morphine, and something else that no one bothered to tell him about. Kirsten apparently knew what they were giving him, but no one felt the need to tell him. The nurse also took his temperature, blood pressure, and pulse and checked on the various tubes and whatnots attached to him. After the nurse was done, she smiled at both of them and left.  
  
"What are they doing with me?" Ryan finally asked. He was starting to find it annoying that no one was telling him anything.  
  
Kirsten began to explain what the doctor had already explained to her, "Right now, you're on IV antibiotics, for infection. When you go home, you'll continue on oral antibiotics. Obviously, you know that they're still giving you morphine for the pain. They'll either give you Tylenol with codeine or percocet when we go home. They found blood in your urine, so the catheter stays in until after they do another ultrasound on your kidneys that is scheduled for later on this afternoon. They also want to do some more x-rays and possibly another CAT scan. Your chest tube and IV will both come out before you're discharged, probably tomorrow morning. The stitches will remain in your lip and forehead for about ten days. There isn't much they can do about the fractures to your nose or ribs. Those will heal in time, with plenty of rest. And I do mean plenty of rest. Any other questions?"  
  
"No." Ryan said. "I just thought they were supposed to, you know, clear things with me before they could do anything. Nobody's said anything to me about what's going on. They just come in and do what they want and leave. I'd like to know what they're doing before they do it. Decide if I really need it."  
  
Ryan couldn't hide his annoyance. He was never big on hospitals to begin with, and it made him mad that they thought they could do what they wanted without informing him first. It wasn't right.  
  
"Well, you've been a little out of it." Kirsten told him, "Besides, they don't need your consent to treat you. They needed ours, and we gave it to them. We haven't been able to go over any of the medical stuff with you, because you've been sleeping, which is what you need. But any questions you have, feel free to ask. Sandy and I aren't hiding anything from you, but we're also not going to clear any medical treatment with you. It's not your decision. It's ours."  
  
Ryan again recognized the tone. This time it might be coming from Kirsten, but it was the same tone as Sandy's. He knew it meant not to argue with her, either.  
  
"Where is Sandy?" Ryan asked. He figured it would probably be a good idea to change the subject.  
  
"He took Teresa home so he could get your stuff, and then he had to go over to the police station and meet with Officer Greene. He should be back soon." Kirsten informed him.  
  
Ryan sighed. He didn't get anywhere with Sandy, but he hoped he could get Kirsten to understand.  
  
"Kirsten, I really don't want to press charges. I just want to drop it. Forget about it. Can't you, maybe, talk to Sandy? Tell him to drop it?" Ryan asked.  
  
"No, Ryan. We're not going to drop it," she told him, "What Eddie did to you was wrong, and we're not going to forget about it. We are pressing charges."  
  
"You don't understand." Ryan mumbled.  
  
"Oh, no, I understand." Kirsten started, "I understand what it's like to have the phone ring at 5:30 in the morning. I understand what it's like to have a police officer tell you that one of your kids has been attacked and is in the hospital. I understand what it's like to not know, to wonder, and to be sick with worry as you race down to the hospital. And I understand what it's like to walk in here and see you like this. Know that you're hurt, in pain and understand that there is nothing I can do to make it better. So don't tell me I don't understand, because I do."  
  
Ryan opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't know what to say. Kirsten had never said anything like that before. He felt bad that he had obviously upset them both, but at the same time he felt kind of good. It meant that he actually meant something to them. They were mad because they were worried about him. Mad because they cared. Hell, mad because they actually seemed to love him. So all Ryan could think to say was,  
  
"Sorry. About everything."  
  
"So are we, Ryan. Really sorry. About all of this. Everything that's happened since this spring." Kirsten said.  
  
Kirsten was finding it hard to hide the frustration, the hurt and the anger from Ryan. She knew this wasn't the best time or place to talk to him about what happened, but she wasn't ready to drop it, either. Every time she looked down at his face, his battered, bruised face, and every time she thought about the injuries hidden under his covers, she got angry all over again. And her anger would go all the way back to the night he and Teresa shared together. She couldn't help but think that if Ryan had just been careful, had they just used protection, none of this would have happened. Ryan would be home, Seth would be home, and they would all be happy.  
  
"Look, Ryan," Kirsten started, "We can't change what happened. But I hope you can learn from it. You know, the next time you want to be with someone that you'll be smart, careful."  
  
Ryan's eyes grew big, and he swallowed hard. He couldn't believe what Kirsten was starting to talk about. Not now. Not The Talk. Not here, in the hospital, with Kirsten. He'd rather have her yell at him about whining about his medical treatment or not wanting to press charges against Eddie. Anything other then The Talk.  
  
"Kirsten," Ryan asked, "Do we really have to talk about...... this?"  
  
Kirsten shook her head and told him, "No, we don't. But I know Sandy wants to talk to you again about it."  
  
Ryan couldn't help but roll his eyes. Not again.  
  
"Again?" Ryan asked, "Why? It was........ painful enough the first time."  
  
"But if you had listened the first time, we wouldn't be here now. So I think Sandy just wants to talk. Again. So this doesn't happen again. Ever again." Kirsten told him.  
  
Ryan was quiet for a minute, trying to decide if he should tell Kirsten the truth, and finally decided it probably would be better if he did. That way, he could avoid The Talk again.  
  
"Kirsten," Ryan started, "I, um, did listen the first time Sandy talked."  
  
He hoped that was enough. That Kirsten would understand what he meant, and he wouldn't have to go into detail with her, not have to have The Talk with her.  
  
Kirsten just stared at Ryan at first, trying to understand what he was saying. And then suddenly, she understood exactly what he meant.  
  
"You mean you lied?" she demanded to know.  
  
"I didn't lie. I ah....." Ryan wasn't really sure how to answer her.  
  
"You told us that the baby was yours, and you knew it wasn't. You lied to us. Why?" Kirsten demanded.  
  
Ryan began to panic. It probably would have been better if they continued to think that he and Teresa weren't careful, instead of them knowing he had lied.  
  
"I had to." Ryan explained, "Teresa would have gone back to Eddie. Married him. He'd continue to hit her and then he would start abusing their children. I couldn't let that happen. I had to keep her safe, away from Eddie."  
  
He wanted Kirsten to understand. He thought he was doing what was best for Teresa, for the baby. He needed her to know that, and not be so mad at him.  
  
"Ryan," Kirsten started out calm, but quickly began to yell, "You need to stop. Right now. You need to stop trying to save the world. You are not responsible for everyone. You can't save everyone. It's not your job. Did you even realize what you were giving up? That you were sacrificing your entire life for someone else's child?"  
  
Kirsten couldn't believe how mad she was. She knew she shouldn't be yelling at Ryan while he was lying in a hospital bed, badly beaten, but she was really mad at that point.  
  
"Kirsten," Ryan began, almost begging her, "I'm sorry. I just. I know it was. Look, I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say. I just didn't know what else to do. I knew Teresa couldn't do it alone, and I didn't want her to go back to Eddie. If you knew there was a chance the baby wasn't mine, you would have never let me go."  
  
"A chance it wasn't yours?" Kirsten said, "If you used protection, then it wasn't yours, so you're right about not letting you go. So instead of seeing this for what it was, a tragic, scary situation for Teresa, you took it upon yourself to sacrifice your life and everything and everyone in your life to go protect Teresa and her baby. Ryan......"  
  
But at that point, Kirsten didn't know what she should say next. She was never the one who yelled or lectured Ryan when he did something to deserve it. It was always Sandy. Kirsten took a deep breath, and looked down at Ryan. He looked so upset, almost on the verge of tears, and she realized she and Sandy both needed to address this whole mess with him.  
  
"Alright, you know what," she said, "I don't think this is the time or the place to continue this conversation. But believe me, this isn't over. We're all going to talk about this when we get home."  
  
"So does this mean you're going to tell Sandy?" Ryan asked. But given the way Kirsten stressed the word "all", he already knew the answer.  
  
"No." she told him, "You are."  
  
Ryan nodded. Yeah, he knew she would say that.  
  
"You think he's going to be mad?" he asked. Ryan was kind of hoping that some of Kirsten's anger would evaporate if he continued to make small talk. But realized it hadn't when she said,  
  
"What do you think?" with the tone. He really hated the tone.  
  
Ryan laid his head back and sighed. It was amazing how quickly they could make him feel like a kid again. Two weeks ago Ryan was worried about having enough money to pay the rent, about buying food, and about the prospect of raising a child. And now? He was worried about talking to Sandy, about the lecture he knew was coming, and about the prospect of being grounded. It wasn't that he didn't want to be just a kid. He just wasn't used to it, and wasn't sure if he knew how to be one.  
  
Ryan looked over at Kirsten, trying to figure out what to say next, but she was furiously flipping through her magazine, turning pages without even looking at them. Ryan knew she was still really mad at him, and he figured that maybe it would be a good idea if he didn't say anything for a little while. He thought it would give her a chance to be not so mad at him anymore. 


	9. Kandy Time

Ryan must have dozed off waiting for Kirsten to stop being so mad. She didn't say anything else to him, and the morphine kept making Ryan fall asleep.  
  
He slowly became aware of the fact that someone was trying to move him. It hurt, and he wanted them to stop. He tried to push them away, but stopped when he heard Sandy's voice.  
  
"Ryan," he heard, "Stop fighting. Wake up."  
  
Ryan slowly opened his eyes and saw two orderlies in addition to Kirsten and Sandy standing over him.  
  
"Hey," he said, "Sorry. What's up?"  
  
"It's time for those tests I told you about." Kirsten told him. She didn't sound really mad anymore, but Ryan noticed she also wasn't calling him "sweetie" either.  
  
Sandy then explained to him, "You need to let the orderlies help you move onto the gurney. You're going down to radiology now. The doctor said he wants another ultrasound and another CAT scan and some x-rays. It should take about an hour or so, and then they'll bring you back to your room. We'll be here when you get back."  
  
As Sandy began to explain to Ryan what was going on, Ryan noticed that he too didn't sound very mad, but it was easy to see that he was not one of Sandy's favorites at that moment. Ryan wondered what Kirsten had told Sandy while he was still asleep. Ryan also couldn't help but notice that "we'll be here when you get back" sounded more like a threat and not a promise. Or at the very least a promise of a long, long talk.  
  
"Thanks, but it's ok, guys," Ryan said, "You don't have to wait around. I know you both have to be tired. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Really."  
  
Ryan wanted them to know that even though he did appreciate their concern, they didn't have to hang out in the hospital. He was fine. They needed to go home and get some sleep. Just as long as they came and got him the next day, he'd be fine. Unfortunately, the looks he got from both Sandy and Kirsten told him they didn't appreciate his offer. Not at all.  
  
"We'll be here when you get back." Sandy told him, with the tone. The tone was most definitely back.  
  
Ryan just looked from Sandy to Kirsten and back to Sandy again and said,  
  
"Um, ok, thanks."  
  
He was really thankful when the orderlies finished moving him and all his attached medical whatnots and began to wheel him out of the room. He'd be safe in radiology for at least an hour.  
  
Ryan wished Seth were there. Seth always knew how to help defuse their anger. Ryan knew he'd still get the lecture. That was inevitable. But Seth could always get them to lighten up. Unfortunately, Seth wasn't there. Kirsten said something about him not being home, but she also said the cop called them at 5:30 in the morning. So Ryan knew, Seth was home, but he was also mad at Ryan. He had to be really mad not to come to the hospital. After all, Ryan left him and then never called. Ryan figured it was quite possible that Seth hated him, and Ryan would never be able to repair their friendship.  
  
Damn, Ryan thought, how was he going to be able to go back to Newport with Kirsten and Sandy both mad at him and Seth hating him? He knew he didn't have a choice. Sandy had told him that. He was going back to Newport. He'd just have to listen to the lectures, endure the grounding he guessed was coming, and try to figure out how to make it up to Seth.  
  
Even though it hurt, a lot, as they moved him around for the various tests, Ryan didn't say anything. He stayed quiet as the radiologists performed each test and the orderlies moved him on and off the gurney. The last thing he needed was for someone to tell Sandy and Kirsten that he gave anyone a problem so he stayed quiet, and was pretty much done by the time he was wheeled back to his room.  
  
"How'd it go?" Kirsten asked as she watched the orderlies move Ryan back into his bed.  
  
Ryan's answer of "fine" came through gritted teeth, so Kirsten knew he was hurting.  
  
"They brought you something to eat while you were gone." Sandy told him as he watched Kirsten arrange the blankets around Ryan before pulling the tray in front of him.  
  
"Not really hungry." was all Ryan could think to say. He was tired and sore and not in the best of moods so he didn't really want to eat.  
  
"Yeah, uh huh," Kirsten said, "The doctor wants you to start on a soft diet. So they brought you some jello, beef broth, apple juice and vanilla pudding."  
  
Pudding.  
  
"How long do you think Seth'll stay mad at me?" Ryan blurted out. He figured now was as good a time as any to find out.  
  
Sandy and Kirsten looked at each other first before Sandy said, "Ryan, Seth's not mad at you."  
  
Yeah right, Ryan thought but only said, "He's not here."  
  
As Kirsten opened all the containers on Ryan's tray and handed him the spoon to start eating she told him,  
  
"I told you, he wasn't home."  
  
"If he wasn't home at 5:30 in the morning then where is he?" Ryan said as he put the spoon down. He wasn't hungry, and he didn't want to eat.  
  
Kirsten picked up the spoon again, and this time stuck it in the pudding before handing it back to Ryan to eat. Then she said,  
  
"Catalina."  
  
"Catalina? Why? For how long?" Ryan asked. He still had no intention of eating, no matter what Kirsten shoved at him. He wanted to know what was going on with Seth.  
  
Seeing that a battle over the food tray was beginning between Kirsten and Ryan, Sandy decided to explain it to him as quickly as possible. This way Ryan would get the answers he wanted, and Kirsten would get him to eat.  
  
"He really wanted to go to Tahiti, but after the Coast Guard found him, he had to settle for Catalina. It's just for the summer. He has a job there, and is staying with some friends of the family. Now I think Kirsten would prefer if you started eating on your own, or I do believe she will feed you."  
  
Tahiti? Coast Guard?  
  
"He tried to sail his boat to Tahiti, didn't he?" Ryan asked, "I should have known. This is all my fault."  
  
"No." Sandy said, "You're only responsible for your own actions. Seth is responsible for his."  
  
Ryan pushed the tray of food away. It was his fault. Seth had told him that he no longer had the need to sail off to Tahiti as long as Ryan was in Newport. But Ryan left Newport, and that made Seth leave, too.  
  
"But he would never have tried to go if I hadn't left." Ryan said.  
  
"You are not responsible for Seth's actions." Sandy again stated. But this time he said it in a way that left Ryan with no room to argue.  
  
"When is he coming home?" Ryan asked.  
  
Sandy and Kirsten exchanged looks again as Kirsten again picked up the spoon, but this time she put it up to Ryan's mouth for him to start eating. He could ask all the questions he wanted. Kirsten was done waiting for him to eat by himself.  
  
"Soon. No later then the end of the week. I called him earlier and explained everything to him. He has to give his job notice, pack, and then I'll go down and get him. Now, eat." Sandy told him.  
  
Ryan finally gave in and accepted the spoon from Kirsten. He'd eat the food even though he wasn't hungry because he knew otherwise Kirsten would continue to feed him like a baby.  
  
"Can I talk to him?" Ryan asked as he began to eat.  
  
Sandy just shook his head and told him,  
  
"You can talk to him when you're home. Believe me, when you're both home, we're all going to talk, and you'll both have plenty of time to catch up with each other."  
  
Ryan looked from Sandy to Kirsten and then back to Sandy again. They'd obviously talked when Ryan was asleep. Ryan looked down at his tray. He had been taking small bits of this soft diet of his, but decided it would be a smart idea to really eat this mush. He could tell he was in deep with Sandy and Kirsten and didn't want to add to it by refusing to eat.  
  
"So, I'm going to guess Kirsten told you already, so there's nothing left to say." Ryan said as he finished off both the pudding and the jello. Damn, he hated jello.  
  
"Oh, no, you still have a lot of explaining to do. But this isn't the time or the place, nor are you in any condition to go into it with me right now. But you will, I can promise you that." Sandy advised him.  
  
Ryan was finally able to put his spoon down. He ate the mush off his tray. That had to count for something.  
  
"Sandy..." he started to say, but Kirsten cut him off,  
  
"Ryan, I think it's time you rested. You're tired, and you need your rest."  
  
Ryan started to say, "No. I'm...." but then he realized it wasn't a request. Kirsten wasn't asking him to rest. She was telling him.  
  
Ryan just sighed and put his head back on his pillow. They were both in full parenting mode, and Ryan figured it would be pointless to argue.  
  
A few minutes later, Ryan finally got up the nerve to ask,  
  
"I take it this means I'm banished to the pool house for an indefinite amount of time?"  
  
"No. No pool house." Sandy told him.  
  
"Really?" Ryan asked.  
  
Alright, he thought, maybe I'm not grounded after all.  
  
"Nope." Kirsten told him, "Hailey lives in the pool house."  
  
"Hailey!" Ryan exclaimed, "But it's mine!"  
  
Sandy had to hide his smile. He would have never guessed Ryan would be attached to the pool house. Too bad for Ryan because he wasn't going to live in the pool house anymore. He was living in the house, in a regular bedroom from now on, just like Seth. Kirsten and Sandy had already agreed on that, and nothing Ryan said would change their minds.  
  
"Not any more." he told Ryan, "You moved out and Hailey moved in."  
  
Ryan was shocked. They gave Hailey the pool house. They always told him it was his pool house, and they up and give it to Hailey.  
  
"But I'm coming home. You said so yourself. I have to come home." Ryan knew he sounded like a child. A whiny, tired, hurt little child.  
  
"Yes, you are." Kirsten told him, "But not home to the pool house. Hailey is the adult. She lives in the pool house now."  
  
Ryan was getting annoyed. Kirsten was right that he was tired, but not too tired to fight for his pool house.  
  
"So, what?" Ryan whined, "I have the air mattress on Seth's floor again?"  
  
"No, of course not." Kirsten told him, "I had the painters come this morning to redo the room across the hall from Seth. That's your room."  
  
"But I like the pool house." Ryan said defiantly.  
  
"Really?" Sandy said, "That's funny. Hailey said the same thing."  
  
"But...." Ryan started again, but was quickly cut off by Kirsten,  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be resting?"  
  
Ryan laid his head back on his pillow and stared up at the ceiling, thinking to himself. So I no longer have the pool house, I'm probably grounded for who knows how long, and every time I open my mouth, I get The Tone, from both of them. And I'm excited about going back to Newport for what reason? 


	10. Going Home

Ryan was never so happy to be sitting in the passenger seat of the Range Rover. He had begun to think they were never going to let him out of the hospital. It took all night and a good part of the morning before the doctor would discharge him. They ran this test and that test and took blood for this or that, and each time discussed the results with Sandy and Kirsten. They 'allowed' him to listen, but wouldn't allow him any input as to what a waste he thought it all was. Each time he tried to voice his opinion, he was quickly quieted with a look or the tone.  
  
He was never alone long enough to tell the doctor himself, since Sandy and Kirsten didn't leave. They both stayed all day and all night. Every time Ryan woke up, they were there. It would have been comforting to know they cared so much if they still weren't so mad. At one point during the night he again tried to tell them it would be alright if they wanted to go home and get some sleep, but that offer was again met with a couple of looks. After that, Ryan decided it would be best to just keep quiet.  
  
But as Ryan sat in the Range Rover, he realized that he could deal with the lecture he knew was coming, because at least it meant he was going home. He just hoped he could figure out how to make it up to Seth and Marissa. He had tried a couple of times to ask them how Marissa was. The only answer he could get was that she was doing as well as expected and that she missed him. Aside from that, they would tell him to worry about himself for now.  
  
It wasn't until Sandy began to walk away from the Range Rover that Ryan found out that they bought Teresa's car, and Sandy was driving it home.  
  
"I don't know how I'm going to be able to pay you guys back." Ryan said as he eyed the yellow convertible following behind them.  
  
Kirsten didn't take her eyes off the road when she asked,  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For Teresa," Ryan told her, "I know about the money that you gave her."  
  
Kirsten just shrugged her shoulders and said,  
  
"I didn't give her. I bought her car," Kirsten told him, "Between you and Seth, I figured we could use another car."  
  
"You didn't have to. I....." Ryan started to say, but wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to say.  
  
"You what?" Kirsten asked him, "Ryan, put your head back, close your eyes and take a nap. It's about an hour until we get home. I'll wake you up when we get there."  
  
"I..." Ryan again began, but still couldn't figure out what to say to her.  
  
Kirsten just looked at him and said,  
  
"Now."  
  
Ryan decided to just do as he was told. He didn't want to start an argument with Kirsten that he knew he couldn't win.  
  
He jumped when he heard Kirsten say,  
  
"Ryan, wake up. We're home."  
  
He was surprised how quickly he fell asleep after Kirsten's order to rest, but at least it made the drive home go fast. Unfortunately, an hour sitting in the car made Ryan even more stiff and sore then lying in a hospital bed, so Sandy had to help him out of the car, and up the front stairs, and then down the entrance way stairs.  
  
Ryan stood in the entrance way trying to catch his breath, as he looked up at all the stairs he needed to climb to his new room.  
  
"Come on, kid. Let's get you upstairs." Sandy said.  
  
"You know," Ryan told him, " I think I'd be better off in the pool house. A lot less stairs."  
  
Kirsten laughed. Ryan was nothing if not persistent.  
  
"Nice try." she told him, "Don't worry. We just need to get you up the stairs. It'll be a few days before you'll need to worry about coming down again. Remember, the doctor said complete bed rest."  
  
"But..." he started until Sandy told him,  
  
"No pool house, Ryan. Your room is upstairs now. Same as Seth."  
  
As Ryan got to the landing, he stopped to catch his breath, which was hard to do since it still hurt like hell to breath.  
  
"What about Seth?" he finally managed to ask.  
  
"I promised I'd call him as soon as we got here. Let him know you were home and make arrangements to get him home." Sandy told him.  
  
"Can I talk to him?" Ryan asked.  
  
"Sure." Kirsten said, "After you get some sleep."  
  
"But all I've done for the past two days is sleep. I slept all the way home in the car." Ryan whined. Yeah, he knew he was whining, but he also knew he wanted to talk to Seth.  
  
"The doctor said you needed bed rest. Give your body a chance to recover, and your injuries a chance to heal. So whether you like it or not, you're going to bed, and you're going to stay there. You can talk to Seth later." Kirsten told him.  
  
Ryan looked at Kirsten. He knew enough this time not to argue with her, but he couldn't help but think there was more to why he couldn't talk to Seth on the phone.  
  
"He's still really mad, isn't he?" He asked Kirsten.  
  
"Ryan," Sandy told him, "Seth is upset. He missed you. And I think it would be better if you two talked face to face. Now over the phone when you're not feeling well is not the best time to talk."  
  
So Seth is mad, Ryan thought. That shouldn't have come as a surprise to Ryan, but it still hurt for Sandy to confirm the truth. They were all mad at him, so why did they want him home so bad?  
  
His new room was nice. Ryan was thankful it wasn't a bright blue like Seth's. It was more of a gray-blue color. Ryan immediately noticed his soccer ball, his weights, his IPod, laptop and radio. All the extras that he didn't bring with him to Chino. Not only did they keep them, but they moved them into his new bedroom. He knew that if he looked in the closet he would find the suits and tuxedos that had been bought for him, and the drawers held the expensive clothes that he knew not to bring back to Chino. It suddenly didn't bother Ryan any longer that he didn't have the pool house. This room was done just for him. It was his, with all of his stuff.  
  
"This is nice. Thanks." was about all Ryan could think to say. He knew if he attempted to tell them that they really didn't need to go to the trouble, well, then he would be in trouble, again.  
  
"Do you need to..." Kirsten said as she pointed to the bathroom.  
  
"Yeah." Ryan said as he shuffled towards the bathroom.  
  
"Do you need any help?" Kirsten asked.  
  
Ryan tried not to laugh. For one thing, he knew it would hurt and for another, he knew Kirsten was just trying to be helpful.  
  
"Ah, no. Thanks. I got it," he told her, as he shut the door behind him. . After he was finished, he opened the door and noticed that Kirsten had already turned back the blankets on the bed. She really expected him to follow the doctor's order and stay in bed. Actually, he couldn't and wouldn't admit it to them, but he was tired. He was also sore, and the thought of lying in bed actually sounded good to him, at least for a little while.  
  
"As soon as you're settled, I'll go out and fill your prescriptions. Is there anything you need while I'm out?" Sandy asked as he helped Ryan get into bed.  
  
"Don't forget to call Seth." Ryan reminded him.  
  
"I mean besides calling Seth, is there anything else you need?" Sandy asked.  
  
Ryan just shook his head. There wasn't anything he could think of that he could possibly need for them to do. They already did enough. Again. After Sandy got Ryan into the bed, Kirsten began to adjust the blankets around him and fuss with his pillow until he finally seemed comfortable.  
  
"See," Kirsten told him, "And you made a face in the hospital when I gave you your sweatpants and tee shirt to put on. Now aren't you glad you're comfortable?"  
  
"It wasn't so much the sweatpants and tee shirt as when you handed me my slippers. I was leaving the hospital in the clothes I wear to bed. It was just a little embarrassing," he told her.  
  
"Well, we could have brought you home in a hospital gown, did you think of that?" Kirsten joked, "Besides, since you were coming home to go to bed, it made more sense for you to put these on instead of getting dressed to get undressed at home. I doubt anyone noticed or cared what you were wearing."  
  
Ryan just nodded. He didn't want to think about the argument he and Kirsten almost got into when she handed him his pajamas to wear home. She was right, and he didn't want to admit it. He just wanted to relax.  
  
Ryan wasn't sure how long he was asleep. Sandy woke him up to take some pills. He didn't even bother to ask Sandy what they were. He assumed one was for pain and another was the antibiotic Kirsten told him about. He didn't really care. They told him to take them so he took them, and then he fell asleep again.  
  
Kirsten woke him up again later on, telling him he had to eat. He still didn't have much of an appetite. He didn't know how to explain to Kirsten or Sandy that after you get punched and kicked in the gut you really didn't feel much like eating for a while. Luckily, it was only soup that he had to eat, so maybe they knew.  
  
Ryan was surprised the next time he woke up to find it dark in his room. As he tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom, he realized it must be about time for another pain pill since he was in pain, again. He didn't know what time it was, or where Sandy and Kirsten were. He hoped they were sleeping, although that would mean he couldn't have something for the pain. As Ryan shuffled slowly into the bathroom, he figured he'd just have to manage until morning.  
  
"Hey, let me help you." Ryan heard Kirsten's voice as he walked out of the bathroom. It scared him for a second to hear her and not see her.  
  
"What time is it?" Ryan asked as Kirsten helped him into the bed, and again began to fix the covers around him  
  
"Late. Here's your percocet," she said as she handed the pill to him.  
  
"Thanks. How'd you know? Why aren't you asleep?" Ryan asked. He was really thankful for the pain pill, but he didn't like the thought that Kirsten was awake for another night because of him.  
  
"I set my alarm." she told him, "It's time for you to take something for the pain, which I can tell you obviously need. Go back to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."  
  
Kirsten left after kissing Ryan on his forehead. He just smiled to himself. No matter what, it was still nice to be home. They still hadn't talked yet about what happened. Ryan knew he still had that coming, but at least Seth would be home soon. He would do what ever it took to make amends with Seth, and then world domination to follow, Ryan thought as he drifted off to sleep again. 


	11. Caleb&Crap

Kirsten shut the door to Ryan's room swearing that she was going to kill Sandy. There was no reason he had to tell Ryan he was going down to Catalina. After Seth called to say he was ready to come home, Sandy could have just left, met up with Seth and then come home. But no, he had to tell Ryan where he was going, and now it was up to Kirsten to field Ryan's constant questions. How long does it take for the ferry to get to the island? What time does the ferry come back? What time did Sandy leave? When will they be home?  
  
It had become impossible for Kirsten to get him to just relax and get some sleep. She finally threatened to lock his bedroom door and not tell him when Seth got home if he asked one more question. Even though Kirsten felt bad snapping at him, she knew the more rest he got, the quicker he would get well. And she really wanted him to get well, so she could kill him for what he put them through this summer.  
  
After Kirsten left, slamming his door behind her, Ryan got out his laptop. He didn't think he needed any more sleep. That was all he had been doing, and he wanted to be awake for when Seth got home. He wanted to talk to him, clear the air and figure out how to make it right between them again.  
  
He heard the doorbell a short time later, and figured only Seth would be ringing it to announce his arrival back home. Ryan hoped the fact Seth was coming home only a day after him meant that he wasn't as mad as Ryan first thought. Just in case, though, Ryan wanted to go down stairs and meet Seth on neutral territory.  
  
Even though it hurt a lot for Ryan to move around, he managed to get down the stairs relatively quick, just in time to see Rosa let Caleb in.  
  
Caleb greeted him with a "What the hell happened to you?"  
  
"Accident." Ryan said. He was sore and out of breath and stuck talking to Caleb Nichol. He definitely was not happy at that moment.  
  
"Accident, huh?" Caleb asked, "Does this mean you're home now?"  
  
Ryan only grunted "yeah," too tired to attempt a conversation with Caleb.  
  
Caleb sized him up, trying to figure out what kind of accident the kid could have had to look like that, but just asked,  
  
"Where's KiKi?"  
  
Ryan opened his mouth to say he didn't know, but didn't get a chance. From behind him he heard,  
  
"What are you doing down here?"  
  
Ryan turned around, expecting Kirsten to be yelling at her father. He was after all the one who went bankrupt and got arrested. Ryan doubted they were on friendly terms. He was shocked to see Kirsten staring at him.  
  
"I, uh, thought it was Seth." he stammered.  
  
"Seth? You thought it was Seth?" she said, "That's your reason for disobeying a doctor's order and getting out of bed? You thought it was Seth?"  
  
"Um, yes?" Ryan answered. Crap, I'm in trouble again, he thought.  
  
"Go back upstairs, get back into bed, and stay there. I will be up in a little bit with your lunch." Kirsten ordered.  
  
Ryan looked up the stairs, not really sure how he could climb them without Kirsten noticing how much pain it caused him.  
  
"Maybe I could just stay down here and wait for Seth. I could just lie on the den couch and watch TV. That way I'm right there, and you won't have to bring my lunch up." Ryan asked.  
  
Kirsten's answer came in the form of a look, and not a very pleasant look.  
  
Ryan turned to Caleb and just said, "Yeah, uh, it was good to see you again, Mr. Nichol." and began to climb the stairs as quickly as he could.  
  
When Ryan got to the top of the stairs, he couldn't believe he found himself eavesdropping on Kirsten's conversation with her father. But he knew there had been a lot that had happened in his absence that no one was willing to tell him about.  
  
"What the hell happened to the boy?" he heard Caleb ask.  
  
"He was attacked in Chino. Beaten up by a gang. We just brought him home from the hospital yesterday." Kirsten explained.  
  
"For good? What about that girl he got pregnant?" Caleb asked.  
  
"Yes, for good." Kirsten said, "Teresa miscarried. And Ryan wasn't the father."  
  
Kirsten wanted to keep her answers to her father short. For some reason, though, she felt the need to tell him that Ryan wasn't the father. Not that it mattered to Ryan, but for some reason it matter to Kirsten to tell people Ryan wasn't at fault.  
  
"What about Marissa?" Caleb said, "How come you haven't told Marissa he was home?"  
  
"Ryan just got home yesterday, Dad." Kirsten told him, "And in case you didn't notice, Ryan isn't feeling very well. He needs time to recover and take care of himself before he has to deal with Marissa. Besides, he doesn't want Marissa seeing him like that. He wants some of the bruises to fade before Marissa sees him. So don't tell her. Give him the time he deserves."  
  
"Well, don't expect me to wait too long. I think it will help Marissa knowing that the boy is back. Besides, they're going to be neighbors again, shortly." Caleb said.  
  
When Kirsten didn't answer, Ryan heard Caleb explain,  
  
"We have to sell the new house. To help cover some of the legal costs that have come up. Julie still owns the house next door. I put it in her name this past winter, so they can't touch it. So we're going to be moving back there. The boy and Marissa will be neighbors again."  
  
"Dad," Kirsten said, clearly irritated, "The boy's name is Ryan. And I'm sure he will call Marissa when he is up to it. When Sandy and I decide he is up to it. Is there anything else you needed? Seth should be home soon, and Ryan still needs to eat lunch."  
  
"I wanted to talk to you about the Newport Group." Caleb said.  
  
But Kirsten quickly told him,  
  
"Dad, you know we can't. The DA's office may have cleared me of any wrongdoing, but they can still drag me back in if they think I know something. I'm not going through that again. If there is anything you need to discuss, you know you need to discuss it with Sandy, not me. And Sandy is in Catalina meeting up with Seth. So, I don't mean to be rude, but if there's nothing else, I need to see about Ryan's lunch."  
  
"Look, KiKi," Caleb said, "I know this has been hard for you. But I want you to take a look at the papers I have here. I formed a new company called the Newport Residential Group, of which you are the president and CEO. Have Sandy take a look at the papers. Have one of his associate take a look. It's all legal. Hell, give it to the DA if you want. This is your company. Not mine. I'll have nothing to do with it. I promise. But just promise me that you'll take a look at it."  
  
"Leave the papers on the table. I'll ask Sandy to look at them, and then we'll get back to you." Kirsten said.  
  
As Caleb dropped the papers on the table, he turned to leave.  
  
"What about my grandson? When can I see him?" he asked.  
  
"Soon, but not today. I'll let you know when. My family and I need some time to sort some things out." Kirsten told him.  
  
She knew her father had been through a lot over the summer and was still facing some serious problems, but she wasn't up for holding his hand and pretending that he was Father or Grandfather of the Year. Right now, her concern was for Ryan, Seth and Sandy. Her family, and for now, that didn't include Caleb.  
  
"Ok," Caleb said, "Give my best to Seth and the Sandman. And I'm glad the boy is back, too. I know you must be happy having your whole family home."  
  
After Caleb left, Kirsten went to the kitchen to get the lunch Rosa had made for Ryan as well as his medication and headed up the stairs to have yet another talk with him about making decisions on his own. He was told to stay in bed, and he was going to stay in bed.  
  
"Would you like to explain to me what that was about?" she demanded to know as she placed his lunch tray down on the bed in front of him.  
  
Ryan just shrugged and told her, "I thought it was Seth."  
  
He knew it was a weak answer, but it was all he had.  
  
"Yes, you said that already." Kirsten told him, "Before we left the hospital yesterday, what did the doctor say?"  
  
Ryan sighed and looked down before he answered, "To rest."  
  
"Bed rest, Ryan. He said bed rest." Kirsten corrected him. "That means you stay in bed and rest. Got it?"  
  
Ryan nodded and told her,  
  
"Yeah, got it. Sorry."  
  
Kirsten looked at him for a minute. He was only picking at his lunch, and not really eating, so Kirsten knew even before she asked,  
  
"How do you feel?"  
  
"Fine." Ryan lied, as he continued to look down at his food.  
  
But when he looked up and saw Kirsten just staring at him, he admitted,  
  
"Sore and tired and like crap." and then he waited. He knew another lecture was coming, but Kirsten just looked at him and said,  
  
"Well, you still have a few hours until Seth and Sandy come home. Try to eat something and then get some sleep. You'll feel better."  
  
"And someone will wake me up when Seth gets home?" Ryan asked.  
  
Kirsten nodded and told him, "I'm sure Seth will wake you up himself."  
  
Ryan continued to play with his food. He was tired and knew he really should sleep for a while so he and Seth could talk later, but he also had someone else on his mind.  
  
"Kirsten?" Ryan finally asked, "What's going on with Marissa? Why is Caleb so anxious to tell her I'm home?"  
  
"And I thought only Seth eavesdropped." Kirsten told him, "I told you before, she misses you."  
  
She didn't want to have to tell him about Marissa. Not now. He needed to worry about himself, not Marissa.  
  
"Kirsten, please." Ryan said.  
  
Kirsten looked at him, and knew that Ryan wasn't going to drop it. He really wanted to know. She sat on the edge of his bed as she told him,  
  
"It's been rough for her this summer, and she's had some trouble dealing with it all."  
  
"How so?" he asked.  
  
"She's been drinking." Kirsten explained, "Going out. Not telling anyone where she's going or when she'll be back. She's been running pretty wild. My dad and Julie aren't really sure what to do any more."  
  
Kirsten could tell just by the look on Ryan's face, in his eyes, exactly what he was thinking, before he could say it.  
  
"And before you open your mouth and say this is all your fault, no it's not." she told him, "You cannot be responsible for Marissa's actions anymore than you can be for Seth's. Yes, everyone was upset when you left, but you didn't make Seth run away or Marissa drink. This is not your fault."  
  
Ryan didn't answer her, not right away. He just pushed his tray out of his way and began to get out of bed again,  
  
"I should probably call her," he finally said.  
  
But Kirsten stopped him,  
  
"No, you should get some sleep. You need to take care of yourself right now. I'm sure my dad will tell Julie about you, and one of them will end up telling Marissa."  
  
"But it should really come from me." he told her, "Not Julie or Caleb. I should call her. Tell her what happened."  
  
"No, Ryan. Not right now. You need to rest." Kirsten said. There had to be some way to get Ryan to take care of himself. To stop putting other people ahead of himself, other people's needs before his.  
  
"Look, I'll make you a deal." she told him, "You promise to stay here and sleep, and I'll call Marissa and explain everything to her."  
  
Ryan just shook his head. It was nice of Kirsten to offer, but he told her,  
  
"I really think it should come from me."  
  
"Ryan," Kirsten said, clearly getting annoyed, "There is no negotiating in this deal. You stay here and sleep, or I won't call Marissa. Understand?"  
  
Ryan finally realized that Kirsten wasn't going to give in and let him call Marissa. So he decided to stop arguing. He wasn't going to win.  
  
"Fine," he told her, "But you'll call her now. Tell her I'm sorry. Tell her I'm okay, and tell her I'll call her as soon as I can. Ok?"  
  
But Kirsten just said, "Good night, Ryan."  
  
"And you'll wake me up when Seth gets home." he said.  
  
But Kirsten again just said, "Good night, Ryan." and closed his door behind her.  
  
After Kirsten left, Ryan laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. He was only gone for two months, and in that time, Marissa was back to drinking and heavy partying and Seth had run away. Life in Newport had gone to hell, and Ryan had no idea how he was going to fix it. 


	12. The Second Coming of Seth

Ryan woke up some time later to find his door open and a great deal of noise coming from across the hall. It was obvious from the music coming out of Seth's room that Seth had to be home. Ryan started to get out of bed to go see him, but looked up to see Seth walk into his room.  
  
"Hey, you're up. Good to see." Seth said  
  
Ryan smiled, "Hey, you're back. When did you get home?"  
  
Seth shrugged and pulled out Ryan's desk chair, "Only been home for a little while. Was supposed to let you sleep, but now that you're awake....."  
  
Ryan just laughed, he seemed like the same old Seth, "Like I could sleep through all of that!" he told him.  
  
Seth just shrugged, "Yeah, well if they ask, you woke up on your own. I think I'm in enough trouble."  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it." Ryan told him, "I'm definitely in deeper then you."  
  
Seth only stared for a minute. Ryan looked like hell, and Seth knew it probably wasn't the time to go into it with him. But Seth couldn't help being mad, and Ryan sitting there trying to act like nothing happened made Seth even madder.  
  
"Well, you deserve it more." Seth snapped.  
  
"Thanks, man. Nice bed side manner." Ryan said, "Really helps. Thanks. Thanks a lot."  
  
"I'm just saying, Ryan, that it was bad enough when you left, but not calling?" Seth shot back, "I can't believe you could just turn your back on us like that. Cold, Ryan, really cold."  
  
Ryan just looked down at the blanket on his bed, the one he kept wrapping around his hand.  
  
"It wasn't like that," he quietly told Seth.  
  
"Yeah, well, we wouldn't know what it was like." Seth snidely told him.  
  
"Seth," Ryan said, finally looking Seth in the eyes, "All I can say is I'm sorry. It's hard to explain. I know it was messed up. That I messed up. And believe me, your parents haven't made it exactly easy for me."  
  
"Well, they shouldn't." Seth snapped.  
  
"Thanks again." Ryan snapped back, "Really enjoying your homecoming. Anything else?"  
  
Seth just shook his head. He wasn't sure what he wanted Ryan to say, and at that moment, he was still too mad to try to figure it out.  
  
"No, not really." he told him, "Just. Well, look, Mom and Dad said you need to sleep so I better go. Unpack. Let Summer know I'm home."  
  
Ryan just looked down at his blanket again, "Yeah. See ya later."  
  
Seth's only answer was, "Yeah," as he pushed Ryan's desk chair back.  
  
"Seth? I'm glad you're back." Ryan called out as Seth walked out of his room.  
  
He was surprised when he heard Seth answer back,  
  
"Yeah, I'm glad you're back, too."  
  
Ryan stared up at his ceiling, listening to Seth in his room. Ryan knew Seth had every right to be pissed at him. He just didn't know how he could make it right, and after seeing Seth so angry, he wasn't sure if he could ever make it right.  
  
Ryan woke up a little while later and found that someone had shut his door again. He had to stop taking the percocet. It kept making him fall asleep. He could no longer hear Seth in his room and had no idea where anyone was.  
  
On his way back from the bathroom, Ryan opened his door in the hopes of letting Seth know he was awake, and hoped that Seth would want to try to talk again. It was only a few minutes later when Seth walked in,  
  
"Hey, you're awake again." Seth said, again pulling out Ryan's desk chair.  
  
"Yeah, what time is it?" Ryan asked. He wanted to start the conversation slow, gage how mad Seth still was.  
  
"About dinnertime." Seth told him, "Dad went to go pick it up. Should be home soon."  
  
"Wonder if I'll be allowed to eat with you guys." Ryan asked.  
  
Seth only shook his head and almost smiled when he informed Ryan,  
  
"Not unless we all eat in here. Mom said you had to stay in bed for a while. Doctor's orders."  
  
Ryan sighed, "I'm bored."  
  
Seth actually smiled at that comment. It sounded funny to hear Ryan whine.  
  
"Yeah, well," Seth told him, "I doubt Mom cares if you're bored. She said you had to stay in bed and rest. And, Ryan, I really wouldn't argue with her right now."  
  
"Tell me about it." Ryan told him before he asked, "Hey, do you know if she talked to Marissa?"  
  
Seth nodded. He really didn't want to talk about Marissa, but naturally Ryan would ask about her.  
  
"Marissa was here when I left for Summer's. Mom wouldn't let her come up to see you." Seth said.  
  
"What did she say?" Ryan asked, and was surprised when Seth snapped,  
  
"I don't know. I went to Summer's."  
  
Ryan figured it really wasn't the time to talk to Seth about Marissa. He'd have to ask Kirsten when he got the chance about Marissa. Now was the time he needed to talk to Seth, apologize to Seth again.  
  
"Are you and Summer? You know, ok?" Ryan asked.  
  
"Of course," Seth joked, "How could she resist the Seth Cohen charm?"  
  
"No, seriously," Seth continued, "She was upset when I first left, especially with the whole Coast Guard/Tahiti disaster. But we're ok. She spent a lot of time with me in Catalina."  
  
Ryan laughed thinking about it, and then said, "Yeah, you've got to tell me about Tahiti."  
  
"Mom and Dad didn't tell you?" Seth asked. He figured Ryan would know all about it by now.  
  
"Not really," Ryan told him, "Just that after I left you left on the Summer Breeze and the Coast Guard found you, and then somehow you ended up in Catalina."  
  
Seth just shrugged, "That's pretty much it. Don't want to bore you with the details."  
  
"Since when?" Ryan joked.  
  
Seth snapped, "Since you left and didn't call."  
  
"You left, too." Ryan said, in his own defense.  
  
"Yeah, because you left." Seth told him, "and I called. I kept in touch with my family. I didn't turn my back on them."  
  
Ryan just looked down at his blanket again. How could he get Seth to understand, if he wasn't sure how to explain it?  
  
"I didn't turn my back, Seth." Ryan tried to explain, "I just needed time. I thought I was back in Chino for good. Believe me, I did think about calling. Every time I tried, I couldn't. I knew I'd want to come back, and I had to get used to being back in Chino. I thought, you know, Teresa and I. Look, Seth, I'm sorry. That's all I can say. I know it doesn't change what happened, but I'm sorry."  
  
Seth was trying to stay mad at Ryan. He really wanted to stay mad. Ryan put them all through hell. But sitting there, listening to Ryan talk, he knew Ryan probably went through the same hell as they did. Part of him still wanted to be mad, wanted to slap some sense into Ryan. But part of him just wanted to forget. Forget what happened. Pretend like it never happened. Pretend they were both away at camp for the summer, or something else equally as juvenile and immature. Seth just wanted it to all go back to the way it was before May, before Teresa came to find Ryan, and just pretend Teresa was never pregnant.  
  
"Yeah, about Teresa," Seth said, "I'm sorry about the baby. That's rough."  
  
Ryan just looked away. He hadn't really thought much about the baby. It all seemed so surreal.  
  
"I guess it wasn't meant to be." Ryan finally said, because isn't that what people say when something like that happens?  
  
Then he continued, "At least she's going to Atlanta. Or she may have left for Atlanta, I don't really know. But she gets to start over. Get away from Eddie, and be safe."  
  
"Sounds like you're both safe from Eddie." Seth said, and was surprised to see that Ryan didn't know what he was talking about.  
  
"Didn't Dad tell you?" Seth asked, "Eddie's been arrested and charged with all kinds of stuff. Dad says he's going to jail."  
  
"We don't exactly agree on Eddie," Ryan told him, "Besides, your parents aren't really talking to me. Yelling at me, yes, but not really talking to me."  
  
Seth laughed. He was glad that he wasn't home when Ryan first got home. He could only imagine how it's been with Ryan and his parents.  
  
"Believe me," Seth said, "I just spent the day with Dad. Be thankful they're not talking to you, yet. They will, though. As soon as you feel better, they want to have some kind of family meeting. So just do me a favor, do yourself a favor, don't get well anytime soon."  
  
Ryan made a face before asking, "That pissed, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," Seth said, "Something about the consequences of our actions. Rushing into things without thinking. Making the wrong choices. Blah, blah, blah. So really, stay sick for as long as you can."  
  
"You know Seth, I'm not really sick." Ryan said.  
  
"Then stay injured." Seth told him, "For say, two months. Long enough for them to forget."  
  
Ryan just shook his head before saying, "I doubt they're going to forget. Besides, I should be okay in like two, maybe three weeks, and I doubt I have to stay in bed the entire time. Face it, man, the talk? It's coming, and my guess, it's coming soon."  
  
"Then you'll just have to do something else to get into more trouble. Take more heat off me." Seth said.  
  
"I'm telling you, I wouldn't worry about it if I were you," Ryan told him, "It seems like every time I open my mouth, I get into more trouble."  
  
Seth sarcastically said, "And I told you, you deserve it more."  
  
"Yeah," Ryan sighed, "It's real nice to see how happy everyone is to have me home."  
  
"We're happy you're home," Seth told him, "Just pissed that you left and never called."  
  
Ryan looked down at his blanket again before asking Seth, "You and me ever gonna be okay?"  
  
"On one condition." Seth advised him.  
  
Ryan already knew what the condition was. That was an easy one to guess.  
  
"Don't worry," he said, "With your parents pressing charges against Eddie and his friends, I can never go back to Chino again."  
  
But Seth just snickered, "Yeah, like Mom and Dad would really let you go back to Chino again. That's not my condition."  
  
When Seth wasn't very forth coming with his condition, Ryan finally asked, "Well?"  
  
"I get to choose the color of the car." Seth blurted out.  
  
"Car? Color?" Ryan asked. He wasn't exactly sure what Seth was getting out, so Seth decided to explain, as only Seth could,  
  
"Our car. The convertible. Two guys driving a yellow car. Even for brothers, that's not a good idea. Water polo playing jocks and a yellow car. Too many pee jokes. So Dad said we can paint it. I pick the color and then we're cool."  
  
Ryan was quiet for a minute. He said brothers, Ryan thought, Seth actually said brothers.  
  
"Depends on the color." Ryan said, trying to sound like he was serious.  
  
"Candy apple red." Seth told him.  
  
"Candy apple red?" Ryan repeated and then laughed, "You want me to paint my car candy apple red?"  
  
"Our car," Seth corrected, "And if you want, you can call it fire engine red."  
  
"Fire engine red?" Ryan again repeated, "Seth, I stopped playing with fire trucks when I was like eight."  
  
"What color would you paint it?" Seth asked.  
  
Ryan shrugged and suggested, "How about black?"  
  
"Black?" Seth asked, "With a black roof and black interior?"  
  
Seth pretended to think about that suggestion for a moment before adding,  
  
"Sure, and why we're at it, we can have them paint 'Atwood Funeral Home' on the doors."  
  
Ryan laughed, "Fine, no black. How about white then?"  
  
Again Seth took a moment to pretend he was thinking about it before commenting,  
  
"A black and white? Hum? You mean you haven't spent enough time in police cars?"  
  
Ryan just looked at him and said, "But candy apple red sounds like such a girl's color," and then it dawned on Ryan,  
  
"Summer picked out the color, didn't she? She told you to paint it candy apple red."  
  
Seth tried to sound convincing when he told Ryan,  
  
"She suggested the color. But I think the car would look good red, and I think we'd look good in a red car."  
  
"You and me?" Ryan asked.  
  
But Seth just laughed. "No, me and Summer."  
  
"Hey, I thought it was supposed to be our car." Ryan said.  
  
"Don't worry. I'll let you drive it, too." Seth told him, "Of course, that all depends on how long it'll be before you're even allowed out."  
  
"Yeah, thanks for the reminder," Ryan said, "Red, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, red. You know, you can call it blood red, if you want. But I would suggest you not in front of Mom and Dad given your latest accident." Seth told him.  
  
Ryan wanted to tell Seth that red was fine. If that's all Seth required for them to be cool, then red was okay by him. But Sandy walked in at that point,  
  
"Hey, Seth. Dinner's ready. Ryan, yours will be up soon. Kirsten is getting it together now."  
  
Ryan sat up and was hopeful when he said, "I can come down."  
  
Sandy just shot him a look before telling him, "No, you already came down once today, you don't need to come down again. You stay put. Come on, Seth."  
  
"Hey, Dad," Seth told him, "Ryan and I decided on a color for the car. We're going to paint it red. Fire engine red."  
  
Sandy just looked from Seth to Ryan and then said, "Yeah, okay. If that's what you both want, I'll take it over tomorrow. As long as you both agree on red."  
  
Because Sandy knew red was not Ryan's idea, he looked at Ryan for his answer.  
  
Ryan nodded, "Yeah, red's fine. I mean it's better then yellow, right?"  
  
"Yeah, Ryan likes the idea of red," Seth added, "He wanted to call it blood red, but I didn't think that was such a good idea."  
  
"Thanks a lot, Seth." Ryan said.  
  
Sandy just shook his head. They obviously were working out their problems. Sandy didn't doubt for a minute that painting the car red was Seth's idea, and Ryan just went along with it. Either way, it was good to see them getting along and joking with each other.  
  
"Let's go, Seth," Sandy said, "Ryan, stay put. I know I don't have to say that again. After dinner, try to get some sleep. We'll talk tomorrow."  
  
As Seth walked out of Ryan's room, they exchanged looks. They both knew. The talk comes tomorrow. 


	13. The PreTalk

Seth somehow managed to open Ryan's door while balancing the breakfast tray with the other hand, without dropping anything, which was surprising since his parents piled more food on that one tray then Seth had seen in a really long time. He attempted to advise them that there was no way Ryan could possibly eat everything on that tray, but his parents just told him to bring the tray up and make sure Ryan ate as much as possible, and take both pills Kirsten handed him.  
  
They also promised that they would all have lunch together. He suddenly wasn't looking forward to lunch. It was not going to be a fun family get together.  
  
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty" Seth said to the lump under the covers, "Wakey, wakey, your breakfast is served."  
  
"Seth, it's too early. Just. Leave the tray on the desk. I'll get it later." Ryan answered, still not emerging from under the covers. If Seth left quietly, Ryan could go back to sleep. But Seth never did anything quietly, and he wasn't going to leave.  
  
"Come on, Ryan, it's after nine." Seth said, "Mom and Dad have assigned me babysitting duties. So, get up. I'm supposed to make sure you eat and take these pills. Come on, let's move. Do you need help going potty?"  
  
Ryan finally sat up and pulled the covers off his head, so he could glare at Seth. He didn't care what time it was. It was definitely too early for Seth's idea of humor.  
  
"No, Seth. Thanks, but I think I can pee on my own." Ryan snapped as he headed for the bathroom.  
  
"Hey," Seth joked, "You're not supposed to say pee."  
  
"No, Seth," Ryan told him, "You're not supposed to say pee. I can say pee. Your mother isn't here. Just leave the tray. I'll eat later."  
  
When Ryan walked back out of the bathroom, he expected to be alone. He wasn't. Seth was still there, waiting for him.  
  
"Can I help you with something, Seth?" Ryan asked.  
  
Seth just shook his head and told him,  
  
"Nope. I told you, Mom and Dad assigned me babysitting duty. I'm supposed to make sure you eat and take these pills. So, everything ok in there?"  
  
Ryan was finding it hard not to snap at Seth again. Ryan was never really a morning person to begin with, but to be a non-morning person in pain made it really hard for Ryan to want to be nice.  
  
"Yeah, Seth," Ryan snidely said, "I went to the bathroom all by myself. I even brushed my teeth with no problems. I'm a big boy now. I don't need a babysitter. I don't want to keep you from anything. I'll eat and take the one pill, but not the other so you can take that one with you."  
  
"Mom said to take both. So you gotta take both." Seth said, "Why? What are they?"  
  
"The one is some kind of antibiotic, for infection or something like that. The other is percocet. I don't want the percocet. Keeps making me fall asleep. I'd rather just take some Tylenol. I'm tired of being asleep." Ryan explained.  
  
Seth handed Ryan both pills before telling him, "Mom said that you need both. I guess she figures that you still need to sleep. So, just take both. Make the babysitter happy, because he'd hate to have to tell Mom that you were not a good boy."  
  
Ryan just shook his head, and took both pills. He didn't think Seth would tell on him if he refused to take the percocet, but since Ryan wasn't sure just how shaky things still were between them, he couldn't be positive.  
  
"Good boy!" Seth told him, "Now, make all gone with your breakfast so you can grow big and strong."  
  
"Is there some reason you're patronizing me this morning?" Ryan asked him.  
  
Seth just laughed. He always found it fun to tease Ryan in the morning, since that was when he was at his grumpiest.  
  
"Nope. Just having some fun." Seth told him, "Mom and Dad had to go out. They were going to drop the convertible off, and then they had some lawyer thing about Grandpa. Don't worry. They'll be back for lunch. Ok, well, I should say, worry that they'll be back for lunch. Apparently, we're all having lunch together."  
  
Ryan continued to eat breakfast and only shrugged, "Great. Then I'll finally be allowed out of this room."  
  
"Don't you get it, man?" Seth said, "It's time for The Talk. Lunch with the 'rents isn't going to be great. I've already been through a portion of the talk after the whole Tahiti incident, and it wasn't great. Trust me, not great at all."  
  
Ryan just snickered, "Come on, Seth. We've both been through this before. Do I need to remind you of the whole Oliver incident? Ok, so, it's not fun. Not great either. But look at it this way, Sandy lectures, maybe yells a little, tells us how long it will be before we can go out again, and then it's basically over. Believe me, after what I've already been through these past two months, and after getting my ass and assorted other body parts kicked by Eddie and his friends, your dad's talk won't be that bad. At least maybe they'll finally stop being mad at me, and stop constantly yelling at me."  
  
"Yeah, okay, suck up." Seth told him, "You don't think it's going to be so bad? Did ya notice that your wallet and keys were on your dresser?"  
  
Ryan just shrugged, "Yeah, so?" He wasn't really sure what that had to do with anything.  
  
So Seth began to explain, "The hospital gave Mom and Dad your stuff after you were attacked. Apparently Mom cleaned out your pockets before she threw your bloody clothes away. She put your wallet and keys back on your dresser. But she gave your cigarettes to Dad. So in addition to the lecture you have coming for not calling, they know you're smoking again. You don't think that may come up a few hundred times in the conversation, especially with the Nana having lung cancer? Face it, I'd be worried if I were you."  
  
Ryan just looked at Seth for a minute and then looked away. Seth didn't know the half of it. Seth didn't know that Kirsten and Sandy knew he lied about the baby. So Ryan knew the lecture would be long, and the yelling may get a little loud, but then it would be over. He just wanted it to be over.  
  
Seth left a little while later. He wanted to call Summer before his parents got home, just in case he couldn't call her for some as of yet undetermined amount of time.  
  
Ryan lay back down on the bed. Damn percocet, he thought. He was getting sleepy again. He hoped to convince Kirsten to let him switch to Tylenol. But as he drifted off to sleep again, he thought about what Seth said. Sandy had his cigarettes, and Sandy knew he lied about the baby, and they were already mad that he never called. It probably wasn't the best time to ask Kirsten for anything. 


	14. The Talk

Seth snuck into Ryan's room a few hours later. He was shocked to see Ryan asleep again. Ryan was right, taking the percocet must really be a drag. Even though it was obvious that Ryan was asleep, Seth still wanted to warn him.  
  
"Hey, Ry," Seth whispered, "You awake?"  
  
But when he didn't get a response, he said louder, "Ryan! You awake!"  
  
Ryan just mumbled from under the covers, "What, Seth?"  
  
"It's time." Seth said. "Mom and Dad are home, and they're getting lunch ready. This is it. You may want to wake up now. Shake off the percocet and get your brain working."  
  
"Yeah, ok," Ryan said as he sat up, "Give me a minute and then I'll be right down."  
  
"No, don't come down," Seth warned, "They don't want you to come down."  
  
"I thought you said we were eating lunch together?" Ryan asked, "How can we have lunch together if I can't come down?"  
  
"Apparently we're having lunch in here. We're all eating in your room." Seth told him.  
  
Ryan just shot him a look and said, "You're kidding, right?' He figured Seth had to be joking.  
  
But Seth just shook his head, "Although that would usually be a good guess, sadly, this time, no, I am not kidding. Mom doesn't feel you're 'ready' to walk down stairs yet. Not today, anyway. She said you have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and she wanted to wait to see what the doctor said. So she decided we can have some kind of weird family picnic in your room."  
  
Ryan could only mumble "great" as he walked to the bathroom. When he came out a few minutes later, not only was Seth still in his room, but so were Sandy and Kirsten. And only Seth had lunch. Ryan's tray once again sat on his bed. Sandy and Kirsten didn't have any thing to eat. This was not going to be a fun family picnic at all.  
  
"Hey." Ryan said as he moved back to his bed.  
  
"How you doing today?" Sandy asked as he automatically reached out to help Ryan get back into bed, and Kirsten helped rearrange his blankets and give him his lunch.  
  
"I'm good. Thanks." he finally said, "Aren't you guys eating?"  
  
Kirsten shook her head as Sandy told them, "No, you guys eat. We ate earlier with the lawyer."  
  
Seth and Ryan looked at each other. They both knew. Keep up the small talk during lunch. Postpone the big talk.  
  
"Yeah, how'd that go?" Ryan asked.  
  
and Seth added, "Yeah, what's up?"  
  
Sandy filled them in, "Apparently this new company really is legit. And your mother is actually the President and CEO of the Newport Residential Group."  
  
"Wow," Seth said, "Grandpa actually did something honest. Who would of thought!"  
  
"There is still some stuff that needs to be worked out." Kirsten told them.  
  
"But still," Ryan said, "That's great."  
  
"Yeah congrats, Mom." Seth added.  
  
And then Seth and Ryan looked at each other. They weren't sure what else to say, and Kirsten and Sandy weren't willingly adding to the small talk. They both seemed to be patiently waiting for both boys to finish eating.  
  
"So, how about the car? Did you drop it off?" Seth finally asked.  
  
Sandy nodded and told them, both, "Yes. We dropped it off. They said it's in excellent shape."  
  
"Yeah," Ryan told them, "Arturo was a great mechanic."  
  
Seth then asked, "So, how long do you think the car will take until it's ready?"  
  
"Two weeks." Kirsten told them.  
  
"Two weeks?" Seth asked, "To paint a car?" That sounded a little long just for a paint job, especially since the car didn't need any other work, and then he got his answer,  
  
"Probably not." Sandy told them, "But it will be at least two weeks before either one of you drives it."  
  
And with that, Seth and Ryan knew the small talk was done.  
  
Sandy looked from Seth to Ryan and then asked,  
  
"So, which one of you wants to go first?"  
  
When Ryan and Seth just stared at Sandy and then at each other, Sandy continued,  
  
"You," he said, pointing to Seth, "For taking off to Tahiti and leaving us just a note."  
  
"A note!" Ryan exclaimed, "You left a note? Man, that's a pretty harsh way to find out someone has taken off."  
  
But before Seth could answer, Sandy turned to Ryan and said,  
  
"Or you? For lying about the father of Teresa's baby and taking off to Chino."  
  
"What?" Seth said, "You mean you knew it wasn't your baby, but you left anyway? I can't believe you!"  
  
Sandy put up his hand and told them both, "Ok, you know what, it's my turn to talk, and your turn to just listen. You will both have plenty of time to talk and get reacquainted and get reacquainted with the rules of this house."  
  
"Seth," Sandy said, turning to him first, "We've already been through most of this when the Coast Guard brought you home. But we're going through it again, since we were all still really upset back then. Yes, you were upset about Ryan leaving, but trying to sail that boat some four thousand miles to Tahiti was down right stupid and dangerous and immature. Running away never solved anything. I thought you would know that. It only creates more problems. And leaving your mother and I a note after already losing Ryan was selfish and childish."  
  
"We allowed you to go to Catalina," Sandy continued, "in the hopes that it would help you clear your head, come to terms with losing Ryan and realize that even if Ryan wasn't here, that being at home with us was still better then being out on your own, alone."  
  
At first Seth just nodded. They had already gone through a lot of this before. And they were still right. Being alone in Catalina, working as a bus boy trying to support himself was no fun. It was lonely and it was boring. And he really was glad to be home, even more glad since Ryan was also home.  
  
"Dad, Mom," Seth finally said, "I'm sorry. Again. I know I didn't handle Ryan leaving well. And I'm so sorry. For everything."  
  
"We know, Seth," Kirsten told him, "You said that already. And we believe you. But your father is right. You didn't think about us at all. Didn't think about what it would do to us to find a note telling us that you were sailing the Summer Breeze to Tahiti, and you'd be back by the end of the summer. We were already dealing with losing Ryan."  
  
"I know, Mom," Seth said, "I know. I was wrong. I was selfish. I'm sorry. Really, really sorry. I don't know what else you want me to say."  
  
"We don't want you to say anything else, Seth." Sandy told him, "We know you're sorry, and we do believe you. Now we want you to listen. We're upset with both of you, and we want you both to understand what your actions did to us, to this family. Do you understand?"  
  
Seth and Ryan both only nodded. Ryan had been very quietly listening to them all talk, and he was bothered by the fact they kept talking about losing Ryan. Ryan never thought of himself as lost. They knew where he was. They knew he was in Chino, and yet they still considered him lost. Ryan was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice that Sandy was no longer looking at Seth. He was now looking at Ryan.  
  
"Ryan," Sandy said, trying to choose his words carefully, "It's not so much that you left, or that you lied about your reasons for leaving. We understand that you thought you were doing the right thing. We just don't agree with your reasoning. You sacrificed your home, your future and most of all, your family by leaving. And then you didn't call. You never returned one of our calls. Never tried to find out how we were. You just turned your back on us. It's like you just abandoned us for your life in Chino. And that's what we're having such a hard time with."  
  
Abandoned them. That's when it hit Ryan. They felt like he abandoned them. He abandoned the people who loved him. The people who had become his family. Just like his mother did to him the year before. He was no better then Dawn. No, he was worse, because he knew how it felt to be abandoned, and yet he still did the same exact thing to them.  
  
"Look," Sandy continued, "We know you've only been with us for a year. But we thought in that year you knew, you understood how much you mean to us, how much we love you. We thought you felt the same way. We hoped you did anyway."  
  
"I did. I do." Ryan said softly. It was all he could manage to get out. He couldn't look at them, and yet he could tell that they were all looking at him. And he didn't know what he should say or what he should do, so he just sat there staring at a spot on the floor.  
  
Suddenly, Ryan felt sick and ashamed. He turned his head away and continued to stare at the floor. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat and blink away the tears in his eyes before he could even think to answer them.  
  
After giving Ryan a minute to compose himself, Sandy finally said, "Look at me, Ryan."  
  
And when Ryan was finally able to look at him, Sandy continued,  
  
"You can't turn your back on your family. That's not how it works. Maybe you don't understand that, but Ryan, we are your family. That's who we've become. We will always be here for you, and you can't just walk away from us. Ever. Do you understand?"  
  
Ryan could only nod. He was still afraid to speak. Afraid that his emotions would give him away. That's not what he meant to do. He didn't know that they would be so hurt by his leaving, and he never meant to hurt them. He'd never intentionally hurt them.  
  
"I'm sorry." Ryan was finally able to whisper.  
  
"We know you are." Kirsten told him, "Just like Seth. And just like Seth, we believe you. But again, you never thought about what your leaving was going to do to us. Nor did you think what not calling us was doing to us. Neither one of you thought about us at all."  
  
"And believe it or not," Sandy continued, "Parents have feelings, too."  
  
It was a lame joke, but the message was clear. Sandy and Kirsten could tell by the solumn guilt ridden looks on both faces that both boys understood.  
  
"So this is what we're going to do," Sandy continued, "You both have spent most of this summer out of the house, and we figured it was time that you both spent some of it in the house. Ryan, you have to stay here, so that's easy. Depending on what the doctor says tomorrow, we'll know exactly how long you'll need bed rest, and how long it will be until you can get around. You will listen to whatever the doctor says, and whatever we say, since we are all only looking out for your best interests. Is that understood?"  
  
Again, Ryan could only nod. He still didn't want to look at any of them, and he definitely wasn't ready to talk to them yet.  
  
"And Seth," Sandy said, "since your mother and I both are going to need to get back to work soon, you'll be here to help Ryan with whatever he needs until he is better able to care for himself. There is no going out with Summer. She can stop by, but she can't stay long. And there is no driving the car."  
  
Seth just nodded but also asked, "For how long?"  
  
Kirsten told him, "Until the doctor tells us Ryan is healed, which based on what they said at the hospital should be about another two weeks. We'll know more tomorrow. Understood?"  
  
At first Seth only nodded, but then added,  
  
"I don't mean to point out the obvious, but basically I'm grounded for the next two weeks. I have no problems helping out Ryan, but Ryan's punishment is to rest and get well. Not really fair. He'd have to rest and get well even if we weren't in trouble. So he isn't really in trouble at all, and he started this whole mess."  
  
"Seth," Sandy said, "It isn't Ryan's fault that you choose to run away. He didn't make you do it. So you can't blame him for that."  
  
"I'm not blaming him," Seth was quick to tell Sandy, "I ran away. I was wrong. I admit that, but Ryan ran away, too."  
  
He then turned to Ryan and said, "Sorry, man. But you did."  
  
Ryan just looked at Seth. He couldn't expect Seth to have his back. Seth had every right to point out what they all knew; it was all Ryan's fault.  
  
"I agree that Ryan concentrating on getting well isn't the same punishment as Seth," Kirsten told them all, "So I suggest that Ryan begins his two weeks after the doctor clears him. Otherwise, Seth is right. Ryan has to stay in bed until the doctor says otherwise. He may be bored, but technically, he isn't grounded. Yet."  
  
Sandy just nodded his head and added, "Fine. Seth, effective immediately, you're grounded. Ryan, you're grounded as soon as the doctor tells us you're well enough to be grounded. Fair enough?"  
  
Seth said, "yes," but Ryan again only nodded his head.  
  
"Oh, and Ryan?" Sandy continued, "I'm going to assume you were just holding those cigarettes in your pocket for someone else. After all, I remember what you went through last summer trying to quit, and we all know what the Nana is up against because of years of smoking, so I know those cigarettes weren't your's. Am I making myself clear?"  
  
Ryan finally looked at Sandy as he said, "yes."  
  
Sandy nodded at both of them and told them, "Ok, well. I think Ryan could use some rest, and Seth, I'm sure you have something to do in your room. Your mother and I will be out on the patio going over some paperwork for the Newport Residential Group. We'll see you both later."  
  
Ryan could only nod again and look away as Kirsten kissed his forehead, and Sandy gave him a squeeze on his shoulder before they left.  
  
Seth hesitated a minute after his parents left, and finally said,  
  
"Yeah. That was about as bad as I thought it would be. You ok?"  
  
Ryan just grunted, "yeah," as he laid his head back and closed his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, ok," Seth said, "I guess I'll talk to you later."  
  
But Ryan didn't answer. He didn't want to talk. Not now. Not to Seth. Not to any of them. He was miserable, and he just wanted to be alone. He couldn't remember a time in his life when he felt so guilty about something he had done. This time he really messed up. He hurt the only people who ever gave a damn about him, and he didn't even realize he had done it. They actually had to tell him that he hurt them. He couldn't believe he could be so stupid, and he had no idea how he could ever possibly make it up to them. Despite having his eyes closed, Ryan could feel the tears welling up in his eyes, and this time, he didn't stop them from coming.  
  
After Ryan refused to answer him, Seth went into his room and closed the door. He felt bad for everything that had happened, and everything that his parents had said. He agreed with them that he and Ryan both messed up, but Seth knew eventually his parents would get over the hurt and move on. They would put the whole nightmare behind them, and so would Seth. But he knew Ryan wouldn't, not as easily as the rest of them. Seth understood what it meant to be part of a family, but it was pretty obvious that Ryan still didn't get it. But Seth also realized that he and Ryan had at least two straight weeks of Seth/Ryan time. Seth knew he would spend that time not only helping Ryan physically, but mentally as well. Seth would help Ryan move past what happened, because Seth was ready to move past it.  
  
Kirsten waited until she and Sandy were out on the patio before talking to him about what had happened in Ryan's room.  
  
"Are you sure we did the right thing?" she asked.  
  
"What? Grounding them for being stupid? Yes, I 'm sure we did the right thing." Sandy answered.  
  
But Kirsten just shook her head, "No, I mean, did you see Ryan's face? He looked devastated at what you said, at what we said. He wouldn't even look at us. I had hoped they would both understand how upset we were, but Ryan looked down right crushed. Maybe we shouldn't have tried to treat him the same as Seth. Maybe we should have been a little easier on him."  
  
"Kirsten," Sandy said, "We can't be easier on him. It's not fair to Seth and frankly, it's not fair to Ryan. Yes, he's upset. He should be upset. But hopefully, we gave him a lot to think about. He needs to realize that he is an important part of this family. Just give him some time. I think he'll be okay. I promise, if he still seems really upset tomorrow, I'll talk to him again."  
  
Kirsten just looked towards the house and quietly said, "I hope you're right."  
  
Sandy smiled and told her, "I am. You'll see. Come on, Mrs. President, we have some paperwork we need to review." 


	15. SethRyan Time

Kirsten knew Sandy was wrong. Ryan still wouldn't look at them, and his answers now consisted of only one word or a nod or a shrug.  
  
"Sandy," Kirsten said after coming down from bringing Ryan his breakfast, "He's not okay. He still isn't saying much, and he still won't look at me."  
  
Sandy nodded. He saw it, too.  
  
"I know," he told her, "I went up last night, but he pretended to be asleep. Or I think he was pretending. Either way, I couldn't get him to talk. I figured I'd give him until this afternoon. When I get back from court, I'll talk to him. But you know, it is okay for them both to be a little upset."  
  
"But Ryan is more then a little upset." Kirsten told him, "He's..." and then she struggled with her words, trying to express exactly how Ryan was,  
  
"He's really upset." was all she could come up with.  
  
"Really upset?" Sandy laughed, "He's Ryan. Of course he's really upset."  
  
"Sandy...." Kirsten warned.  
  
"I know. I know." Sandy told her, "I'll talk to him. Don't worry. I've got to go. Let me know what the doctor says."  
  
Sandy passed Seth on his way out of the kitchen, and gave him a quick pat on the back as he walked out. Yeah, Seth knew, they're getting over it already. He and Ryan were back home, were sorry for what they did, and were subjected to the lecture and the grounding. Now to get back to the way it was.  
  
"Morning, Mother," Seth said, as he went to grab his cup of coffee, "What time do we need to leave?"  
  
Kirsten just made a face at him. Seth wasn't going anywhere. "We?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah. Doesn't Ryan have a doctor's appointment? What time do we need to leave?" Seth asked.  
  
"Not we. Me and Ryan." she told him, "You stay here. Clean the pool."  
  
"Clean the pool?" Seth repeated. "But I thought I was supposed to help take care of Ryan?"  
  
But Kirsten told him, "No. I'm not at work. So I can take care of Ryan. You clean the pool. Just consider yourself lucky I didn't say the pool house!"  
  
It was Seth's turn to make a face back at Kirsten. It was a look of disgust as he told her,  
  
"No way. Have you seen the pool house lately? For someone who is never here, Hailey is a real pig. At least when Ryan had the pool house, it was always clean."  
  
"Well, now Ryan can keep his room clean. He doesn't need the pool house." Kirsten told Seth, with a definite tone in her voice. She wasn't about to go through the pool house argument again, this time with Seth.  
  
Seth only laughed at that mean mother tone Kirsten sometimes attempted to use.  
  
"No, I agree." he said, "I'm just stating a fact about Hailey. As for Ryan being upstairs, I like having my partner in crime upstairs with me. You know, makes it easier to plan for our world domination."  
  
"Well, you and your partner in crime are in enough trouble. I'd hold off on the plans for world domination for now." Kirsten advised him before asking, "Speaking of, have you talked to Ryan at all?"  
  
"No, not really," Seth told her, "He's not up for talking right now. I think he may be mad at me."  
  
"Mad at you?" Kirsten asked. She had no idea what Seth was talking about, and was briefly worried that maybe the two of them had a fight that she wasn't aware of.  
  
"Yeah, mad at me," Seth said, "for pointing out to you that your original plan only had me as grounded and not him, too. You know, we always promised to have each other's backs and I sold him out to the 'rents. So I'm guessing he's mad at me."  
  
"He's not talking much to us, either. So I don't think he's mad at you. I just think he's upset." Kirsten said, looking out the kitchen window. "Really upset." she added.  
  
Seth just smiled. It helped him to know that they didn't think Ryan was mad at him. He hoped to get that from Ryan, but all in due time he thought. So he just told Kirsten,  
  
"Come on, Mom. You know Ryan. He's like Mighty Mouse. Always running around trying to save the day. And when he can't, when he realizes he screwed up trying then he gets all moody and broody, but then he gets over it. Have no fear. After you and Dad both finally go back to work and stop babying him so much, it's all Seth/Ryan time. He'll be over being upset in no time."  
  
Kirsten just shot Seth a look as she told him, "We aren't babying him. We're following the doctor's orders."  
  
But then Seth noticed that Kirsten had turned and was walking out of the kitchen. She was already dressed and was still drinking her coffee so he could guess where she was going.  
  
"Yeah. And where are you going?" he asked.  
  
Kirsten just shrugged. Not that it was any of Seth's business, but she told him, "I told Ryan I'd help him so he can take a shower."  
  
"Excuse me?" Seth snorted, "You're helping Ryan take a shower? Does Dad know?"  
  
"Funny, Seth." Kirsten told him, "His chest is wrapped to protect his ribs. I need to remove that so he can shower."  
  
Kirsten attempted to walk out of the kitchen again. She knew that Ryan would not want her helping him in that way, but he needed help, so he would have to just deal with it.  
  
"Mom, you can't be serious," Seth told her, "The guy doesn't need you to help him get undressed."  
  
"Someone has to remove the bandage," Kirsten explained, "And yes, he may even need help to get undressed and dressed. I doubt he can even take his own shirt off. Have you seen his chest, his stomach, his back? Seth, he's very, very bruised. He can't do it on his own."  
  
Seth just shook his head. He only saw the bruises on Ryan's face, nowhere else. He didn't want to think about what happened to Ryan, didn't want to know exactly what Eddie and his friends did to him. But he also knew he couldn't let his mother help the guy get ready to shower. That would be way too hard for Ryan to swallow.  
  
"Mom, I'll help Ryan." Seth told her, "He'll feel less weird if I help him."  
  
"Maybe you're right," Kirsten sighed, "Just don't let him tell you that he can do it himself. Help him with his shirt. And don't let him put another tee shirt on. A button down shirt will be easier for him to take off at the doctor's, and get his sandals out of the closet. He'll tell you no, but don't listen. If he argues too much, come get me. Also, you don't need to put the ace bandage back on. The doctor will need to examine his chest. Just tell him to be careful."  
  
"God, Mom!" Seth said, "And you don't call this babying? Next thing I know you'll be spoon feeding him."  
  
"Seth. Go." was all Kirsten said.  
  
Seth just laughed as he walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Poor Ryan. Mom was all over him like white on rice he thought as he got to Ryan's door. He knocked, but since the door was partially open, he didn't wait for Ryan to invite him in. He was shocked to see that not only was Ryan out of bed, but he was attempting to make the bed.  
  
"Hey," Seth asked, "what are you doing?" He knew his mother would have killed Ryan if she walked in and saw him making the bed.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked, ignoring Seth's question.  
  
"Well, it was either me or Mom." Seth explained, "And do you really want Mom helping you take a shower? Besides, if she saw what you were doing, you'd be in a whole lot of trouble."  
  
"I'm just making the bed," Ryan said defensively, "I don't need anyone's help."  
  
"Mom says you do." Seth told him as he pulled Ryan away and finished making the bed himself, "I'm supposed to help you take your shirt off and then unwrap your ribs."  
  
"Seth, I can do it myself." Ryan snapped.  
  
Seth just threw up his hands. He wasn't going to argue with a moody Ryan.  
  
"Yeah ok, Mighty Mouse. Let's see you do it yourself."  
  
Ryan just glared at Seth as he headed for the bathroom, ignoring Seth's Mighty Mouse comment. He didn't want to know what it meant. Unfortunately, after he closed the door, he realized taking off his shirt was more painful then he thought it would be, especially after trying to make the bed. He just opened the door and didn't say a word as he waited,  
  
"Can I help you now?" Seth asked.  
  
Ryan nodded and told him, "Fine. Just do it and be quiet."  
  
Ryan just looked away as Seth helped him pull off his shirt and then unwrap the ace bandage that was around his chest. He didn't want to see the look on Seth's face when Seth saw the bruises. It took a minute after Seth was done before Seth could say anything.  
  
"Ryan, man. You're. This is messed up." Seth finally said. "I can't believe this. You're more black and blue then you are white. No wonder Mom and Dad are so freaked out."  
  
"Seth. Just go." Ryan told him, "You did what I needed. Thanks. Now, let me take a shower."  
  
"Look, I'm sorry I got you in more trouble yesterday." Seth told him, "I shouldn't have said anything. I'm sorry."  
  
Ryan just shrugged and told him, "Don't worry about it. I got what I deserved."  
  
Seth just pointed to Ryan's chest and said, "Yeah, and did you deserve all of this?"  
  
"What are you getting at, Seth?" Ryan asked, "I don't have a whole lot of time to get ready, so can you make it quick?"  
  
Seth was quiet for a minute. He wanted to choose his words carefully. He didn't want to make Ryan any more upset then he already was.  
  
"I'm just saying." Seth started. "Look, we both screwed up this summer. Ok, you wanted to help Teresa. We all get that, but you know, you can't help everyone all the time, especially if something like this is going to happen. It's not worth it and it's not fair to you. You can't always be the one who saves the day."  
  
Seth paused for a minute before he continued, "And I can't always think about myself. I got bent out of shape because you left, so I left. But look, now we're both back. We can get passed this. You can start thinking about yourself a little more and everyone else a little less. And I can try to do the opposite."  
  
Ryan just nodded and looked down. He then told Seth,  
  
"I have to take a shower so if you don't mind, get out. Please."  
  
"Fine." Seth said, "You don't want to talk. Just glad to know you don't need help with your pants."  
  
Ryan's only response was a glare.  
  
"Yeah, ok." Seth said as he stepped out of the bathroom, "I'll go get your clothes."  
  
"Seth!" An exasperated Ryan said.  
  
But Seth just laughed, slightly. "Mom said so." he explained, "She gave me explicit instructions on what you're supposed to wear. Mom says no tee shirt and wear your sandals. And if you don't listen, I'm supposed to get her, and neither one of us wants that. So you shower, and I'll get your clothes, and I'll see you later."  
  
"Bye Seth." Ryan said as he shut the bathroom door.  
  
He didn't want to think about what Seth had said. Ryan just wanted to take a long hot shower, and forget about what he said. Ryan knew he shouldn't have been short or nasty to Seth. He wasn't mad at him; he just wasn't in the mood to talk. Right now, he didn't want to even think, let alone talk. Except Ryan kept right on thinking about what Seth said.  
  
I'm just like Dawn, Ryan thought. How am I supposed to get passed that? It was a fact that he had already proven to all of them. There was no moving passed who he was.  
  
Mighty Mouse? Ryan thought. Where the hell did Seth get that one? He couldn't help anyone. Hell, he couldn't even take off his own shirt, and Seth was accusing him of trying to save everyone.  
  
After Ryan got out of the shower, he was relieved that Seth had left. But he couldn't believe the outfit that was on his bed. A button down shirt, with no tee shirt for underneath, shorts and sandals. I look like Seth, he thought after he got dressed. Seth dressed me to look just like him. That's just sick. He wanted to change, but heard Kirsten calling him, asking if he was okay. He knew if he took the time to try and change, she would come up to see if she could help him. He'd rather be dressed like Seth then have Kirsten help him dress. 


	16. KirstenRyan Time

It was a quiet ride over to the doctor's office, as was the wait in the waiting room. Ryan still didn't feel much like talking, and Kirsten wasn't exactly sure what she should say. She didn't want to tell him she was sorry. She wasn't sorry that they lectured him or grounded him. He got what he deserved, so for that she wasn't sorry. And since she wasn't sure if he was so upset about getting in trouble, or if there was something more bothering him, Kirsten decided it would be better to let Sandy talk to him. Sandy always seemed to know what to say.  
  
Luckily, it was only a very quiet five minute wait before the nurse came to call Ryan into the examining room. He just looked at Kirsten for a brief moment when she also stood up and headed for the examining room with him. The last time she brought him to the doctor, it was for his sports physical for soccer, and she waited in the waiting room, so Ryan wasn't exactly sure why she was following him this time.  
  
The nurse turned as both Ryan and Kirsten walked into the examining room. She didn't say anything at first, but wondered why this woman was accompanying her teenage son into an examining room.  
  
"So what brings you here today?" she asked Ryan. She knew just by looking at Ryan's bruised face and the slow way he walked what his answer was going to be, but she always asked the same question.  
  
"He was jumped. Attacked. Five days ago, in Chino." Kirsten said, before Ryan got the chance to answer, "He got out of the hospital on Tuesday, and we're here today for a check up. To make sure his injuries are healing correctly."  
  
The nurse simply nodded and made some notes in Ryan's file before asking, "I can see the bruising to your face, but where else were you injured?"  
  
Kirsten again answered before Ryan had a chance to open his mouth, "He suffered a broken nose, some fractured ribs, a partially collapsed lung, a concussion, bruising to his left kidney, lacerations to his lip and forehead which required stitches as well as numerous contusions to his upper body. I have a copy of the medical records that my husband picked up from Chino Valley Medical Center. They explain everything."  
  
The nurse just looked from Ryan to Kirsten as she accepted the medical records.  
  
"How do you feel now, Ryan?" she asked, hoping the mother would take the hint and let her son answer for himself.  
  
Ryan just shrugged and quietly said, "Fine. Just sore. And a little tired."  
  
And then Kirsten added, "The doctor at Chino Valley gave him percocet for the pain. It makes him sleepy."  
  
"Mrs. Cohen," the nurse asked, "Are you planning on staying in the examining room?"  
  
Kirsten just looked from Ryan to the nurse as she said, "Yes. Why?"  
  
"Well, in my experience," the nurse said, trying to choose her words carefully, "I have found that most teenagers don't like having their mothers with them in the examining room. It makes them uncomfortable."  
  
"How many teenage assault victims have you seen?" Kirsten shot back, but then she saw Ryan look at her and then look away, and she knew sarcasm wasn't what Ryan needed.  
  
"Look," Kirsten explained, "normally, I wouldn't come in. The last time Ryan was here, I didn't come in. But this time, Ryan was seriously injured, and I'm just concerned so I would like to be here when the doctor comes in."  
  
The nurse looked at Ryan for his response since he was staring blankly at his mother. He just shrugged his shoulders and looked away. He wasn't about to go into this with the nurse, and he certainly wasn't going to start another argument with Kirsten.  
  
Well, the nurse thought, if it didn't bother the kid to have her there, it didn't bother her. She just hoped she could get Ryan to answer her questions.  
  
"It was just your upper body and face that were injured?" she asked.  
  
When Ryan only nodded, the nurse said, "Ok, then you'll just need to remove your shirt."  
  
As Ryan slowly removed his shirt, the nurse could see why Mrs. Cohen was upset. The poor kid was covered with bruises. She tried to continue taking his vitals and other information with as much professionalism as possible, but Mrs. Cohen was right. She had never treated a teenage assault victim. Not like this one.  
  
"Okay," she said as she finished up, "The doctor will be in shortly. Take care, Ryan. I'll see you later."  
  
It was again a very quiet five minute wait before the door opened and a doctor walked in.  
  
"Hello, I'm Dr. Andrews. I'm covering for Dr. Jackson this week. I would say it was nice to meet you, but I can see that for you, it's not nice."  
  
Ryan just looked at this Dr. Andrews. He liked Dr. Jackson. Dr. Jackson didn't make stupid jokes. Dr. Andrews then turned to Kirsten and said,  
  
"Mrs. Cohen, nice to meet you. If you don't mind, I'd like to examine Ryan now, and then you can come back in."  
  
"I'd like to stay." Kirsten said.  
  
Dr Andrews just nodded. The nurse had already informed him that the mother was being overprotective.  
  
"Most teenagers don't like having their mothers in the examining room. It's embarrassing to them." Dr.Andrews also explained.  
  
"It's only his face, his back and his chest. I've seen them before. And I know all of the injuries. So I would like to stay, if you don't mind." Kirsten told him.  
  
The doctor again just nodded and then turned to Ryan and said, "Ryan, do you mind if your mother stays?"  
  
All Ryan wanted was for them to stop saying 'mother'. He didn't care if Kirsten stayed or not. The only thing that was bothering him was that they kept saying mother, and Kirsten wasn't correcting them. Ryan looked at Kirsten for a minute, but when she looked back at him, he quickly turned his head.  
  
"Doesn't matter." He finally said, "She can stay."  
  
Kirsten continued to look at Ryan. She saw the look in his eyes after the doctor asked about his mother. She finally made the connection. She understood what had Ryan so upset. Sandy used the word 'abandon.' He told Ryan that it was like Ryan abandoned them. Just like Dawn.  
  
The doctor's exam was relatively quick but painful. He asked Ryan to take deep breaths so he could listen to Ryan's lungs, and that still hurt. He also pushed and pressed on just about every bruise and mark on Ryan's body and that also still hurt. It all still hurt a lot. Ryan tried to be quiet. He didn't want Kirsten to know that it still bothered him as much as it did.  
  
When he was done, Dr. Andrews made some notes in Ryan's file and then explained,  
  
"Everything seems to be healing as well as can be expected. I'd like to see Ryan again next week. At that time, we can remove the stitches and take some x-rays. Are there any questions?"  
  
"What about the percocet?" Ryan asked. "Do I still need to take it?"  
  
"As long as you're not in too much pain, then you don't have to take it. That's up to you. Just continue to limit your physical activity until your next appointment." Dr. Andrews said.  
  
"So he should still stay in bed?" Kirsten asked. They both noticed the look on Ryan's face at that question. Dr. Andrews guessed that it was something that was probably discussed in length at home.  
  
"You need to continue to rest, Ryan." Dr. Andrews told him, "As much as possible. It doesn't necessarily have to be in bed all the time, but if you decide to move to the couch, stay on the couch. Don't go back and forth. The more rest you get the faster you will heal. Understand?"  
  
At first Ryan just nodded, but then asked, "For how long?"  
  
"Definitely for this week, until your next visit. We'll take some x-rays and I'll give you a more definite answer then. Anything else?" Dr. Andrews said.  
  
Ryan thought for a minute and then asked, "When can I go back to work?"  
  
Dr. Andrews was about to tell Ryan to give it at least four more weeks, but he didn't get the chance.  
  
"Next summer" was the answer, and it came from Kirsten.  
  
Ryan started to say, "But I thought...." but didn't finish the sentence. One look at Kirsten and he stopped mid sentence. Instead he looked down at his feet.  
  
"You're supposed to spend the rest of the summer relaxing and recovering, and you can't work during the school year, so next summer you can worry about getting a job again." Kirsten explained.  
  
"Your mother's right." Dr. Andrews told him, "Your injuries need time to heal, so as long as you have her permission, I'd say try to enjoy the rest of your summer. Slowly and carefully."  
  
Ryan only nodded and looked away. He wished to hell that this guy would stop calling Kirsten his mother. He knew it had to be making her extremely uncomfortable.  
  
They both quietly walked out of the doctor's office, and got into Kirsten's car without saying anything.  
  
As Kirsten pulled out of the parking lot, she finally said, "Dr. Andrews seemed nice. He's not Dr. Jackson, but he was good. Seemed to know what he was talking about. What did you think?"  
  
Ryan just shrugged and looked out the window. "He was all right." Ryan said, "I'm, uh, sorry about what they said back there." He knew he had to apologize for them mistakenly calling her his mother.  
  
"When?" Kirsten asked.  
  
"You know," Ryan said, with his eyes still glued to the window, "about being in the examining room with me."  
  
"Why? They were right." Kirsten laughed, "Most seventeen year olds don't want someone in the examining room with them. You're all too mature to have us hold your hand. And normally, I wouldn't, but this time was different."  
  
"That's not what I meant." Ryan sighed. Why did she have to make this difficult?  
  
"No?" she asked, trying to sound like she didn't know what he was referring to.

"Kirsten...." Ryan started. Why is she making this hard? Why couldn't she just accept his apology and be done with it.  
  
"Ryan..." she said, in the same tone Ryan was trying to use with her. She was hoping to joke with him and that would let him know that it was okay. But when she saw he was still upset, she told him, "Look, if you think it bothers me when someone refers to me as your mother, then you're wrong."  
  
"I just thought..." Ryan started to say, but Kirsten interrupted him,  
  
"Ryan, don't think. It doesn't bother me." She thought about it for a minute before admitting, "Honestly, I like it. Okay? I like it when someone refers to my sons. With an S, meaning more then one son. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but it is going to happen."  
  
"I didn't say it bothered me," Ryan said, quickly, "It's just....."  
  
Kirsten waited for him to finish, but when he didn't, she asked, "Just what?"  
  
Ryan looked at her briefly before looking back out the window and said, "I just don't see why."  
  
"Why?" Kirsten asked, "Why we like it when someone thinks you're our son? Don't you think you're important enough?"  
  
Ryan just mumbled, "Yeah, something like that."  
  
Kirsten thought about her answer. She didn't want to give him some sugar coated cookie cutter answer that she knew Ryan wouldn't believe.  
  
She finally looked at him and said, "Why not?"  
  
Ryan looked back at her, confused by her answer. "Huh?"was all he could think to ask.  
  
"I said, Why Not. Why wouldn't you be important enough to us?" Kirsten answered, "Ryan, you spend so much time wondering why that you never ask yourself why not. Think about it. I think you'll be surprised by what you come up with."  
  
"It's just." Ryan tried to explain, "I've never really mattered to anyone before. I just. I don't know."  
  
"Well, you matter to us. A lot. You matter to a lot of people. So ask yourself Why Not. Ok?" Kirsten told him. She hoped that would be enough to help him, but he just mumbled,  
  
"Yeah, ok." and continued to look out the window.  
  
She waited a few minutes before she softly said, "Ryan."  
  
But when he still wouldn't turn his head away from the window she said "Ryan" a little louder and with more force so he would finally look at her.  
  
"You're not Dawn." she told him.  
  
Ryan could only stare at her, with a look of total confusion.  
  
"You're not Dawn." Kirsten said again, "You didn't leave us because you couldn't handle the responsibility of being with us. You left to try to take on more responsibility then you should have. There is a difference. A huge difference."  
  
"We know that you would never do anything to intentionally hurt us" Kirsten continued, "So it is okay to forgive yourself. You made a mistake. Yes, it was a big mistake, but you are still a kid. I know you sometimes have trouble remembering that, but that's okay, too. Because we're here to remind you. We love you, sweetie. And you're stuck with us. So just try to remember that, too. Okay?"  
  
"Yeah." Ryan said, "Why not?"  
  
"Yeah. Why not." Kirsten repeated and then changed the subject, "Want to stop at the burger place and get some burgers and cheese fries for everyone for lunch?"  
  
Ryan finally laughed and said, "Yeah. Why not."


	17. SandyRyan Time

Ryan didn't say much more on the ride home, although he somehow felt a little better. He still felt guilty, but it was nice to know that Kirsten didn't think he was just like Dawn. She could still be wrong, Ryan thought. He did, after all, abandon them when he went back to Chino, although Kirsten was right about one thing. His reasons for leaving were a lot different than Dawn's. He didn't mean to hurt them. That was an accident. A careless, thoughtless accident. And it wasn't because he didn't love them or need them. He just didn't understand that they could love him and need him just as much. He had been surprised when Kirsten actually admitted that she liked that someone would mistake him for her son. If that was true, it also made Ryan happy.  
  
Ryan had hoped for some Seth/Ryan time when he got home. He wanted to apologize for the way he acted in the morning, and see if Seth wanted some friendly play station competition. Unfortunately, Kirsten had other ideas. After lunch, she banned Ryan to the den couch, with the threat that if he didn't relax and try to get some sleep, she'd make him go back up and stay in bed. She then banned Seth from going into the den. Ryan couldn't rest if Seth was there, so Seth went up to his room, to play on the computer and call Summer. Kirsten then went into the office to work on launching the all new Newport Residential Group, leaving Ryan, once again, alone to sleep.  
  
But Ryan didn't want to sleep, not again. He picked up the remote control and ran through all the channels, twice. As he started to run through the channels again, he heard Sandy say, "So, you look bored."  
  
"There's nothing on." Ryan told him as he turned off the television, "How was court?"  
  
"Wow, you must be bored," Sandy laughed, "Court was court. I can't believe Seth hasn't set up the play station yet."  
  
"He tried," Ryan said, "But Kirsten said no. Said I already had enough activity going to the doctor's, and if I wanted to stay downstairs, I had to lie on the couch and relax."  
  
"Yeah. Well, she's probably right. You do need to rest." Sandy told him.  
  
Ryan just sighed and shook his head. "That's all I've done for five days," he said, "The doctor said I can start moving around."  
  
"No," Sandy corrected, "The doctor said you didn't have to stay in bed the whole time, but if you wanted to move to the couch, you could, provided that's all the moving you did. You forget you let Kirsten stay in the room."  
  
"But I can still move." Ryan told him. He was trying not to sound annoyed. He wasn't annoyed at them, but he was definitely getting annoyed at all the lying around he was expected to do.  
  
And either Sandy didn't notice that Ryan was getting annoyed, or he didn't much care, because he told Ryan,  
  
"Sure you can move. From the bed to the couch, back to the bed. And that's it. If you're bored, read a book. You've got just over a month to finish the summer reading."  
  
When Ryan just made a face, Sandy told him, "Wait, I've got something for you."  
  
Ryan watched as Sandy went over to the bookshelf next to the television and pull out two books.  
  
"Here," Sandy said as he handed the books to Ryan, "You might get a kick out of looking at these."  
  
"Photo albums?" Ryan asked. He knew Sandy was leading up to something.  
  
"Yeah. We were just looking at these when you guys were on vacation." Sandy told him.  
  
"Vacation?" Ryan repeated. Sandy couldn't really believe that two months in Chino was a vacation.  
  
"Well," Sandy laughed, "That's what Seth is now calling it. Anyway, we were just looking at these, and I think you'll really enjoy them, too."  
  
Ryan knew that Sandy was definitely getting at something, but he just shrugged. There was nothing on television, he didn't want to work on his summer reading assignments, and he certainly didn't want to get any more sleep, so looking at the albums could be interesting.  
  
Ryan opened the first album, and realized that it started with the first weekend Ryan was in Newport. The first page contained pictures of them at that fashion show the second night he was there, and they continued from there. Ryan didn't have much to say as he quietly stared at the pictures that depicted his first year with the Cohens. He had never stopped to realize everything they had all done together.  
  
"I like this one." Sandy told him, pointing to a picture of Ryan during one of his soccer games.  
  
"Oh, no," Ryan told him, "That one has to go."  
  
He tried to remove it from the album but Sandy stopped him,  
  
"Why? Kirsten loves that picture, too. That was a great game," he told Ryan.  
  
"Sandy, I'm covered in mud." Ryan said, "I never thought it would all come off."  
  
"Yes, one of the few really rainy days in Newport." Sandy laughed.  
  
Ryan studied the picture for a minute remembering that day, before telling Sandy, "You guys stayed the whole game."  
  
Sandy just shrugged, "Well, it was a good game."  
  
Ryan continued to flip through the album, stopping every so often as Sandy commented on one picture or another.  
  
Sandy pointed to their holiday photo before telling Ryan, "Now that's my favorite. Kirsten's too. Your first Chrismukkah. That was fun."  
  
Ryan only nodded at first. Yeah, he remembered Chrismukkah. He also remembered what Sandy said to him back then. He didn't have to be the parent anymore, not as long as he was with them.  
  
"What, are you going to tell me you didn't enjoy the whole Chrismukkah experience?" Sandy asked, interrupting Ryan's thoughts.  
  
"I never said that." Ryan told him, "Chrismukkah was interesting. Definitely interesting. It was just a lot different then any holiday I'd ever experienced before. I mean, it was much better, but definitely different."  
  
The final set of pictures in the album was from Caleb and Julie's wedding. When Ryan came to a picture of him and Marissa at the wedding, the night he left, he stared at it for a while before telling Sandy, "I think I should call Marissa."  
  
Sandy nodded and told him, "I think she'd like that. I know she comes by at least once a day and she calls a number of times as well, checking to see how you're doing."  
  
"Is she...?" Ryan started to ask and then corrected himself, "How is she doing?"  
  
"She's okay," Sandy said slowly, trying to choose his words, "Better knowing that you're back home. I think she'll be even better once she can see you, talk to you."  
  
"Yeah, I hope it helps," he told Sandy, "I should have called her sooner, tried to help her sooner."  
  
"No, you needed to help yourself." Sandy told him.  
  
"Ryan," Sandy continued, "Don't try to save her. Just let her know you're here, that you're home, and she can talk to you if she wants, but don't try to save her."  
  
"I don't get it. Save her?" Ryan asked. He had no idea what Sandy was referring to when he said not to save Marissa.  
  
"I know Marissa has had some problems this summer." Sandy explained, "But those are not your fault. She had similar problems last summer, before you moved here. Remember that. Just be there for her to talk to, but let her figure out her problems on her own. Don't try to do it for her."  
  
"Don't be Mighty Mouse." Ryan said. Now he got it. 'Here I come to save the day', funny, Seth, really funny.  
  
Obviously, however, Sandy found the humor in Seth's Mighty Mouse comparison because he laughed and told Ryan, "Yeah, something like that."  
  
Ryan picked up the second album, knowing exactly what Sandy was getting at. Yeah, we're a family. I got it. But as he started to flip through the second album, Ryan noticed something glaringly obvious. Not only wasn't he in any of the pictures, there were a lot less pictures.  
  
"How come there aren't as many pictures in this other album?" Ryan asked.  
  
Sandy just shrugged, "Not as many reasons to take pictures, I guess."  
  
"You know, it's amazing," he continued, "how just one person can affect the lives of so many others."  
  
Ryan closed the album before telling Sandy, "Subtle, Sandy, real subtle."  
  
"Subtle and effective, wouldn't you say?" Sandy said as he picked the albums up and returned them to the bookshelf.  
  
"Yeah. I just. I didn't think." Ryan tried to explain. But he wasn't exactly sure what to say. He didn't think it would matter so much to them. That he mattered so much to them. That his leaving would hurt them. They already knew all that, and now so did he.  
  
"Yes. It's amazing how the teenage mind works," Sandy joked, "They never think about anyone old. They forget that the parents were once the teenagers and could possibly understand. But hey, some day those teenagers finally become adults who have kids of their own who then become teenagers, and it starts all over again. And the best part is that Kirsten and I then get to sit back and watch you guys deal with it all. And that, my friend, is going to be a whole lot of fun for us."  
  
Ryan laughed, "Not if I send them to your house."  
  
"Sure," Sandy told him, "Send them over to old Grandpa. Then I can tell them all the great and wonderful things you guys did. Fill their heads with all kinds of ideas and then send them home. Can't wait."  
  
"Thanks. Thanks a lot," Ryan said, "Really looking forward to that some day."  
  
"Anytime," Sandy laughed, "That's what families are for. You've got to take the good, the bad and the ugly."  
  
Ryan just stared at Sandy for a minute. First Seth with his Mighty Mouse comparisons and now Sandy with his Clint Eastwood references.  
  
"The good, the bad and the ugly?" he finally asked, "What, you and Kirsten are the good, I'm the bad, and you're calling Seth the ugly?"  
  
"Kirsten and I are definitely the good." Sandy told him, "But I'd say Hailey was the bad, and the gruesome twosome are most definitely the ugly. The ugliest of the ugly. And you, kiddo? You're stuck with all of us."  
  
"Look, I'm going to let you get some sleep now," Sandy continued, "Otherwise the very lovely Mrs. Good will quickly turn to a very mean Mrs. Ugly, and neither one of us wants that. I'm going over to the store. Pick up some stuff for dinner. Anything in particular you're in the mood for?"  
  
Ryan just shook his head no. He hated to admit it, but he was getting tired. Between Seth, Kirsten and Sandy, they had all given him a lot to think about, and it was making him very tired trying to sort it all out.  
  
"Okay, I'll take Seth with me. Let him decide." Sandy said.  
  
"You're taking Seth to the grocery store?" Ryan asked, "How are you going to manage that one?"  
  
"Well," Sandy explained, "The fact that he's grounded makes it less likely that he'll argue with me, and even if he tries, I can threaten to ground him for longer. One of the many advantages to being the parent. You'll see when your two weeks start."  
  
"But my two weeks started," Ryan said, "I'm not in bed anymore. So it's started."  
  
"Nice try," Sandy told him, "You're not in bed, but you're not able to go out yet. Can't be grounded from going out if you're not well enough to go out. Check back with me again next week, after your next doctor's appointment."  
  
Ryan again just shook his head. "Gee, thanks again. Really." he sarcastically told Sandy.  
  
"Hey, that's what we're here for." Sandy said as he turned to head out of the den.  
  
"Sandy?" Ryan said, "Um, thanks."  
  
Sandy turned back and smiled at Ryan. "Anytime," he told him, "We love ya, kid."  
  
"Yeah, ah, I love you guys, too." Ryan was finally able to say. 


	18. Worried about Marissa

Ryan slept until Sandy woke him up for dinner. It was great to be able to eat dinner at the table with everyone. His family. And dinner was just the way it had always been, with Seth dominating the conversation. This time it was all about going to the grocery store with Sandy; only Seth could make a trip to the grocery store funny. As Seth and Sandy debated the merits of thumping a cantaloupe to test for freshness, Ryan realized just how happy he was to be home. Yes, he messed up by taking off to Chino with Teresa, and really messed up when he didn't call any of them. But they still wanted him home. They still wanted him. It was funny, back in Chino, with his mother, he would get his ass kicked just for smoking her last cigarette, but he could royally mess up with the Cohens, and he was 'grounded' for two weeks. And after that, all would be forgiven. Maybe not forgotten, but definitely forgiven.  
  
Ryan wanted to call Marissa as soon as dinner was over, but Sandy suggested he wait and call her in the morning. Seth and Sandy had stopped at the video store after the grocery store, and it was Cohen Family Movie Night.  
  
Ryan tried not to sound annoyed or ungrateful when he told Sandy, "I thought you said it was okay if I called Marissa."  
  
"You can call her tomorrow. Tonight's movie night. Come on, Seth picked up the entire Terminator series. A night of Swartzenegger. Even Kirsten's excited." Sandy told him.  
  
But Ryan suspected there was something more to why he couldn't call other then it was Cohen Family Movie Night, featuring Governor Swartzenegger.  
  
"Why can't I call her tonight?" Ryan asked.  
  
No one answered, not right away. They all just looked at each other, before Seth finally said, "Ry, she's not home. She's at Holly's. For, you know, one of Holly's things."  
  
One of Holly's things. Ryan knew what that meant. A wild drunken drug filled party. And Marissa was going to it. He knew he had no right to get mad or upset, but he was. Marissa didn't have to answer to him. Not the guy who left her for another girl. A pregnant girl, no less.  
  
"How do you know?" Ryan asked, "She call here? Did she come by?"  
  
"No," Seth told him, "Summer told me. Summer and Marissa haven't been hanging out as much as they used to, so Marrisa's been hanging out with Holly. Going to a lot of Holly's things."  
  
"But Summer will be at the party tonight? I mean, you guys can't go out so she'll be going, too, right?" Ryan asked, hopeful that Summer would be there to watch over Marissa. There was no way he could go to the party, and he knew Seth would not be allowed to go, either. And even though Ryan knew Summer could party with the best of them, as Seth's girlfriend, she no longer partied as much or as hard. So at least Summer could be there and could call them if Marissa needed them. But Seth shook his head and told them all,  
  
"Summer said she had a date with her father instead. She's only gone to a couple of Holly's things this summer and said they were a little too wild for her. Worse then last year, if that's possible."  
  
That did not make Ryan feel any better. He knew what Sandy and Kirsten had said, that Marissa had been out of control this summer. They all assumed that meant just drinking, but Ryan knew it could be more. If she was hanging out with Holly and was still really upset about him leaving, then she could also be into drugs. He needed to go and see for himself.  
  
"You know," he tried to explain, "I could just go over and see if she needs anything. If she's okay, I mean. I won't stay. Just make sure she's not in trouble."  
  
He knew what the answer was going to be even before he said anything.  
  
"No." was Sandy's one word response. It was the answer Ryan had expected.  
  
"Look," Ryan again tried to explain, "I won't stay. I won't even drive. You can drive me over. I'll just go in and make sure she's okay, and then we'll leave."  
  
But Sandy again said, "No."  
  
"Sandy..." Ryan again started. He really wanted to check on Marissa. He just didn't know how he was going to convince Sandy to let him go. He wasn't. There was no way Sandy was going to let him and told him so,  
  
"Ryan. The answer is no. You can't go over there. Marissa can take care of herself, and even if she can't, it's not your responsibility. She has parents. That's their job, just like it's our job to make sure you take care of yourself. So your choices for tonight are simple. Either you watch movies with us, or you go to bed. That's it. No going over to check on Marissa, no trying to call her on the phone. Nothing. Movies or bed. The choice is yours."  
  
"Some choice." Ryan just mumbled as he settled down on the couch to watch Seth's Terminator marathon.  
  
Cohen Family Movie Night turned out not to be as much fun as everyone first thought. They all watched as Ryan slouched down on the couch, his popcorn bowl untouched, arms folded in front of him, staring blankly at the television. It was obvious he wasn't watching the movie, but brooding about Marissa.  
  
Half way through the first movie, Sandy had had enough.  
  
"Ryan," Sandy started, with that tone that told everyone Sandy was about to lecture. Yes, it was probably a well deserved lecture, but Kirsten figured it was a lecture that could wait until the morning,  
  
"Why don't I help you up to bed, Ryan." she interrupted. "It's been a long day for you, and you should probably just go to bed. You can watch the rest of the movies tomorrow."  
  
"Fine. Night." Ryan again mumbled as he got up off the couch and headed out of the den.  
  
"Wait. I'll help." Kirsten told him, "Let me just get your antibiotic and your percocet."  
  
"Just the antibiotic. I don't need the percocet. I'm fine." Ryan said.  
  
But Kirsten shook her head, "No, I think you should take the percocet, too. I can see you're walking a little slow, and you've had a busy day. It's the first day you've been out as well as downstairs. Besides, it will help you sleep better."  
  
Ryan looked at Kirsten. Her tone was friendly enough, but still told Ryan not to argue. He then looked at Sandy. The look on his face told Ryan that he was already pushing his luck and shouldn't attempt any more arguing. "Fine." he said and waited until Kirsten came back from the kitchen.  
  
Neither one of them said anything until they got to Ryan's room. Ryan said a quiet "thanks" after Kirsten handed him the two pills and got him a glass of water from the bathroom. She then stood there and waited until he took both pills.  
  
Ryan assumed that since he took them both, Kirsten would leave when he went into the bathroom. But when he came out, she was still there, waiting for him.  
  
"Good night, Kirsten." he said, hoping she would take the hint, and leave.  
  
Kirsten stared at him for a minute. She had gotten him out of the den to keep Sandy from starting another lecture, and yet all she wanted to do was lecture him herself.  
  
"Did you really think we would have let you go over to Holly's to see Marissa?" she asked him.  
  
"No." Ryan sighed. Not again, he thought. He didn't want another talk. The only talking he wanted to do was with Marissa. "Good night." he added, hoping that would end the talk. But it didn't.  
  
"Then why ask?" Kirsten wanted to know.  
  
Ryan didn't answer. He didn't want to answer. "I thought you wanted me to get some sleep?" he asked instead.  
  
"Then why ask?" Kirsten said again, changing the tone of her voice, to one that expected him to answer.  
  
Ryan sat on the bed and looked away. He didn't know why he asked. He knew the answer would be no, and yet he asked, twice. Ryan was still looking down at his carpet when he heard Sandy say, "Ryan, I think Kirsten asked you a question."  
  
Great, Ryan thought. Tag team parenting. Just what I needed. Like there hasn't been enough talking the past couple of days.  
  
"I'm worried about Marissa." he finally said, "She can get a little... out of control. And I wanted to make sure she was okay. You guys can understand that, can't you? I mean, Kirsten, technically, she is your step sister, I figured you'd be worried too."  
  
"Ryan," Sandy answered, "We are worried about her. But not as worried as we are about you. You are our responsibility, our concern. We're worried about you. Marissa has her own parents to worry about her. I told you before, be there for Marissa, but don't try to save her. She has to decide for herself what's best. And if she can't, then her parents will. And if you can't decide what's best for you, then we will. So I think you should get some sleep and then call Marissa in the morning."  
  
"You don't understand." Ryan mumbled.  
  
"What don't you think we understand, Ryan?" Kirsten asked, "That Marissa is drinking, that she may be doing drugs. We know that. We've been here all summer. I've talked to my father, to Julie, to Jimmy. I know how they feel, too. And I know how you feel, whether you believe that or not. Marissa's behavior is not your fault. You can't blame yourself for her. She made her own choice. Seth left, but Summer didn't start drinking, maybe doing drugs. She was just as miserable. It is not your job, your responsibility to save everyone. You've spent the past two months killing yourself, thinking you needed to rescue Teresa, and now that you're home, you're all set to do the same for Marissa. And we're here to tell you no, Ryan. You can talk to her, let her know you're there for her, but if we think you've set out to save her, we will stop you."  
  
"Fine. Good Night." Ryan quietly said, before he climbed into bed, and rolled on his side, turning his back on the both of them. He wasn't arguing with them. It wouldn't get him anywhere, so he wasn't going to bother.  
  
They both waited for a minute, wondering if there was something more they should say. Sandy finally just sighed and said, "Good night, Ryan. We'll see you in the morning," and Kirsten just stroked the back of his head.  
  
Ryan waited about ten minutes, until he was sure they were gone before he got out of bed to get his cell phone. He dialed Marissa's cell phone number, not sure if she would answer, or if she did, what condition she would be in. She must have had it turned off, so her parents couldn't get in touch with her, since he immediately got her voice mail.  
  
"Hey, it's me. Ryan." he said, "Just wanted to say hi. See how you were doing. Maybe see if you wanted to talk tomorrow. I'll be here. Home. Bye."  
  
Ryan hung up and started to put the phone away when he realized something. If Marissa got his message that night, she might try to call him back, and she would call the home phone. He knew that wouldn't be good. Definitely not good. He picked his phone up and dialed her number again.  
  
"Hey, it's me again," he said, "listen, if you get this message tonight, call my cell phone. Don't try to call me at home. Call my cell phone number. Ok?"  
  
After he hung up for the second time, he realized that calling her probably wasn't such a smart idea. She was at Holly's for a 'thing', which Ryan knew meant she was getting drunk. If she decided to call him, but forgot to call his cell phone, then he'd have to explain again why he didn't listen to them. He'd end up having yet another talk with Sandy and Kirsten. And he knew he'd end up spending even more time in the house.  
  
Ryan lay in bed staring at the ceiling, one hand wrapped around his cell phone. All he wanted to do was talk to Marissa. He didn't want to save her, or anything like that. He just wanted to talk to her. Tell her he was sorry. Tell her he still loved her. Tell her to stop drinking. Stop hurting herself. Just stop what she was doing. He was back. She could talk to him. He could help her with her problems. She didn't need the alcohol, the drugs. He just hoped she would listen, that she wanted him back. That she still loved him, too. He hoped it wasn't too late.  
  
Because of the percocet, Ryan wasn't able to stay awake thinking about it too much longer. He drifted off to sleep and never heard his cell phone ringing. Or the house phone ring ten minutes later. And luckily, he didn't hear Sandy come in right after that and take his cell phone away from him. 


	19. Talking to Marissa

Ryan woke up the next morning, not exactly sure where he dropped his cell phone, and figured he must have dropped it under his bed. He'd have to remember to ask Seth to get it for him.  
  
Since no one had come up carrying a breakfast tray, Ryan figured it was alright for him to go down and join them. After a quick shower, Ryan headed downstairs, and was surprised to find that no one was around.  
  
"Hey, Mighty Mouse," Seth said from behind him, "You're up. I was just coming to get your breakfast. My orders were to bring it up to you."  
  
"Where is everyone?" Ryan asked, ignoring both the Mighty Mouse comment and the fact Seth was supposed to bring his breakfast upstairs.  
  
"The firing squad had to go to work for a little while. They both said they'd be home around lunch time." Seth told him.  
  
"Firing squad? Seth, what are you talking about?" Ryan asked as he took the orange juice out of the refrigerator.  
  
"Well, Ryan," Seth said, sitting at a bar stool, "It seems your girlfriend isn't too bright when she's been drinking. She called here last night, told Dad you called her. She told him how she was supposed to call your cell phone, but that you weren't answering it so she called the house wanting to talk to you. Come to think of it, no wonder Summer thought you two were the perfect couple. Not real bright on your part either calling Marissa ten minutes after Dad told you not to. Definitely not too bright."  
  
Danm, Ryan thought, that was so stupid. Damn.  
  
"How did he know it was ten minutes later?" Ryan asked.  
  
"Didn't you wonder where your cell phone was? He has it. Took it from you last night, and saw what time you called her. Twice." Seth explained, "All I can say, man, is you owe Mom a huge thank you for making you take that percocet last night. I'd hate to think what would have happened if you were still awake last night when Dad went up. Something about your head on a platter or your ass in a sling, maybe both. He was definitely having a Terminator moment. I just know I wouldn't have wanted to be you. Hell, I still don't want to be you. Dude, what were you thinking? Do you like getting in trouble? Listening to the lectures, being grounded?"  
  
"Seth, I just wanted to talk to her. Tell her I was sorry about what happened. See if she wanted to talk." Ryan told him.  
  
"And you couldn't have told her that today, like Mom and Dad said?" Seth said, "Come on, you thought if you called her last night on her cell phone she'd leave Holly's party, and she'd magically stop drinking."  
  
"I'm going to go call her." Ryan said. He didn't want to talk to Seth any more about his reasons for calling Marissa. He knew he'd be going over it again and again when Sandy and Kirsten got home, and he really didn't have much of an answer for them either. He wanted to call her. He wanted to talk to her. That's about all he could say. From there, he knew they would definitely do the talking, followed by the lecturing, probably the yelling, and naturally the grounding. Again.  
  
"Use the phone in here." Seth told him, "You're supposed to eat breakfast and take those antibiotics."  
  
When Ryan just stared at him, Seth added, "I'm just telling you what Mom said. So call Marissa from here so you can eat something and take your pill. I'm leaving so you can have your privacy. I'll be setting up the playstation. Might as well get that in before Dad gets home."  
  
Seth had finished setting up the playstation, getting out the remotes, preparing for their first Ninja battle in months when Ryan came into the den.  
  
"Look, Seth." Ryan said, "I, um, need a favor."  
  
"Depends on the favor." Seth joked. "If you want the good control for the Ninja battle then the answer is no. But if all you need is a kidney or something like that, then of course, bro. Anything for you."  
  
"No, seriously, Seth." Ryan told him, "I need you to drive me over to Holly's. Right now."  
  
"I'd rather give you a kidney." Seth deadpanned.  
  
"Seth..." Ryan started to say, but Seth quickly interrupted him,  
  
"No, Ryan. Are you out of your mind? You're not supposed to leave the house. Hell, they don't even like when you get out of bed, and you want to go over to Holly's? Why?"  
  
"It's Marissa." Ryan told him, noticing the way Seth was rolling his eyes, "No, listen. She didn't come home last night from Holly's party. Julie is freaking out, saying she's going to call the cops, Caleb is threatening to institutionalize Marissa, ship her off to rehab. I need to get over there and get her. But I need you to drive me."  
  
"No, Ryan." Seth said. "First, we don't have a car. Mom has hers, Dad has his and ours doesn't come back for another day or two. Second, it's not your problem. It's Marissa's, and Julie's and Grandpa's and Jimmy's. Not your's. Let them handle it. Third, you're already in enough trouble. If you leave this house, Dad will most definitely kick your ass . You'll be grounded until you're forty. Just stop. Okay. Let's just play some playstation and have some breakfast. Try calling her on her cell phone again. But don't go over there."  
  
Ryan just shook his head, "Seth," he said, "I have to. I tried her cell phone. She didn't answer. Julie said Jimmy and Hailey are away so he can't help. She also said Caleb went over there, but they pretended no one was home. But I think she'll talk to me. I have to at least try."  
  
"How are you going to get there?" Seth asked. He was getting mad again that Ryan could be so stupid, again. "We don't have a car. You can't ride your bike. Do you plan on walking? Down to Holly's beach house?"  
  
Ryan thought about it for a minute before telling Seth, "If I walk down along the beach it should only take me about fifteen, twenty minutes. That's not that long. I can talk to Marissa and then drive her home. I'll be back in about an hour, maybe two. Your parents won't even be home yet so they won't have to know."  
  
"My parents." Seth snorted, "Did you ever consider them to be your parents, too? Maybe not by blood, or even name, but they care about you the same way they care about me, and yet, you keep trying to upset them." Seth just shook his head as he continued, "You want to go and chase after Marissa? Save her from whatever she needs to be saved from this week. Fine. Go. But if Mom or Dad calls, I'm not lying for you. I'm telling them where you are. This time I just hope Dad kicks your ass hard enough to finally knock some sense into you."  
  
"Seth, look, I'm sorry you're mad. I'm not trying to piss you off, and I definitely don't want to upset Sandy and Kirsten, but Marissa is drinking because of me. Because I left. She'll end up in rehab because of me. I have to try to help her before that happens." Ryan tried to explain. He really didn't want to upset anyone, especially his family, but Marissa needed help. And Ryan felt like he could help her.  
  
"Marissa is drinking because she's Marissa. Not because of you. Marissa took those pills in Mexico because she's Marissa. She got mixed up with Oliver because she's Marissa. Do you see the pattern here?" Seth told him, "But you go, Mighty Mouse, you go save the day. And good luck to you. You're gonna need it." And with that, Seth walked out of the den and headed for his room.  
  
Ryan thought about what Seth said for a few minutes. He really didn't want to make any of them mad, not again. But Marissa didn't start drinking again until he left Newport. Well, she didn't drink much until after he left Newport. And he knew she didn't do drugs while he was still in Newport. But once he left, she started. And now he was back, and figured if he could just talk to her, he could help her stop.  
  
He walked out the back door and down torwards the beach. As he walked, he continued to think about what exactly he should say to her when he got to Holly's. Unfortunately, it was a longer walk then he first figured, and he was in worse shape then he thought. By the time he finally saw Holly's beach house, he was sweating, out of breath, and in some serious pain. But at least he made it to Holly's. He hoped Marissa would be able to drive him home, because he knew he wouldn't be able to make the walk back.  
  
Ryan knocked on the back door and waited for someone to answer. It took a few minutes before Holly came to the door.  
  
"Well, you really do look like shit." she told him when she let him in.  
  
"Nice to see you too, Holly." Ryan snidely said, "Where's Marissa?"  
  
"Upstairs. Hiding from your grandfather." Holly giggled, "You know, it's good you two don't date anymore. Otherwise you'd be dating your aunt!" And then Holly started to laugh.  
  
Yeah, still the same Holly, Ryan thought, the drunken whore. It didn't surprise him that she'd consider him a Cohen, too. She never thought much of him or Seth so naturally she would lump them together as family.  
  
"Just get her." Ryan told her.  
  
As she stumbled away she called to Marissa, "Hey, 'rissa. Your nephew's here to see you."  
  
Ryan stood there, shaking his head, hoping that Marissa wasn't in the same shape as Holly. It would make it much more difficult to bring her home if she was.  
  
"Oh my God, Ryan, look at you!" he heard from the top of the stairs. He turned around to see Marissa coming down. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she put her hand on his face, "I mean, I know Kirsten said Eddie and his friends attacked you, but I didn't know it was this bad. You look awful!"  
  
Ryan looked at her for a moment before he said anything, "It's just some cuts and bruises. No big deal. They'll heal and go away. I'm fine. But, um, are you okay?" She didn't look okay. She looked like hell. She had bags and black circles under eyes, her makeup was all smeared and her hair looked like she hadn't washed it in some time. She definitely didn't look like the Marissa he remembered from two months ago, the one who cared a great deal about her appearance.  
  
"Fine," she said, "Just enjoying my summer."  
  
"You call this enjoying your summer?" Ryan told her, "Marissa, your mom is threatening to call the cops, and Caleb is threatening to send you to rehab. Come on, let me bring you home."  
  
"Home?" Marissa snorted. "That's not my home. That's a prison. A big, giant prison. And my mom is always threatening to call the cops, and Caleb is always threatening to send me to rehab. They'll get over it. And yes, I do call this enjoying my summer. What else am I supposed to do? You left. Seth and Summer are mad at me. Luke's gone. My dad is off screwing Hailey all the time. Holly and I are friends again. She's the only friend I've got so she and I are having some fun."  
  
"Well, I'm back, and Seth and Summer aren't mad at you. Come on, Marissa. You know you're better then this. You don't need this. Let's just get out of here. If you don't want to go to your mother's then come with me to my house." Ryan tried to gently tell her.  
  
"Your house? Where, in Chino?" Marissa snidely said. "How would you know what I need? You left, with your pregnant girlfriend, and then you didn't call any of us. You can't just show up here and expect me to jump back into your arms. You left me for Teresa."  
  
"You told me you understood why I had to do what I did." Ryan shot back, "You know I'm back in Newport. Not Chino. And I didn't expect you to just jump back into my arms. But I sure as hell didn't expect you to be a drunk or do drugs."  
  
"I'm not a drunk and I don't do drugs!" Marissa shouted, "I told you, I'm just enjoying my summer. And by that, I mean just a little drinking, but I'm not doing drugs. And yes, I understood that you had to go help Teresa with her baby, but I don't understand how you could just forget all of us. Not call any of us. Did you even know Seth left? That he blamed me for you leaving and that Summer blamed me for Seth leaving? That you getting Teresa pregnant was somehow my fault?"  
  
"I didn't forget you guys." Ryan said, softly. "Marissa, I didn't mean to hurt anyone. I know I messed up when I didn't call. And I'm sorry. But I didn't forget any of you. I missed you all. But I am home now. Back in Newport, and I'm not leaving again. I'm here to stay. I promise. What happened is not your fault. Not any of it. It's no one's fault but my own that I left. So, can we just go? Seth and Summer aren't mad at you. They're worried about you. So are your parents. We're all worried about you."  
  
"Well, thanks for the concern." Marissa told him, "But I'm fine. I don't need anyone to worry about me. I'm sorry, Ryan. I'm glad you're home. But I don't want to leave. I hate that prison my mother calls home. I hate all the fighting she and Caleb are doing. I don't want to see them. Either of them. My dad and Hailey come home in a couple of days. I'm going to ask if I can live with him again. Now there is nothing Caleb can do. He's powerless. He can't blackmail me anymore. Until then, I'm staying here with Holly, and having some fun. I know you're not a social, but she's having another thing tonight. Maybe you could come by? If Seth and Summer really aren't mad at me, then bring them, too. We can all have some fun."  
  
"I can't." Ryan told her, "I'm not supposed to be out. Not yet. And I don't think you should stay either. I heard about how out of control Holly's parties have gotten. Worse then last year I heard, and I was at a couple last summer, so I can only imagine. So, come on, come with me. Come back to the Cohen's. I'm sure they won't mind if you want to stay in the pool house until your dad gets back."  
  
"If you're not supposed to be out, then what are you doing here?" Marissa asked.  
  
"I came for you." Ryan said, "I came to bring you home. I wanted to talk to you. Make sure you were okay." Ryan looked at his watch before adding, "We really should get going soon."  
  
"Kirsten and Sandy don't know you're here, do they?" Marissa asked. "That's why you want me to leave so quick. They don't know you left."  
  
"No, they don't know that I'm here, and I'd like to get home before they do." Ryan told her, "But that's not why I want you to leave, too. I want you to come with me so you're safe, so we can talk."  
  
"I am safe, and you never want to talk." she said, "You better go, Ryan. It was great to see you, and I hope you feel better soon. But I'm not leaving, not until my dad gets back. Maybe when you're feeling better, we can get together. We can talk then if you want."  
  
"Marissa," Ryan said sharply, "I am not leaving without you. If I don't bring you home, your mother will call the cops. She's not fooling around. You don't need to be at another one of Holly's party. I know it's not just a little alcohol. I know you called Sandy last night, and I know you were drunk. Please just come with me."  
  
Marissa didn't answer Ryan right away. First she walked over to the door and opened it and then she told him, "Get out, Ryan. I'm staying. If my mother wants to call the police then she can. But I can promise you, she won't. Not after the cops came to her house and arrested her husband. She wouldn't have the nerve to call them. Now, go home."  
  
Ryan stared at her for a while, trying to figure out what else to say to get her to leave with him. She may not believe that her mother would call the police, but Ryan did. He talked to Julie on the phone, and he didn't doubt for a minute that she was serious. Unfortunately, Ryan wasn't going to get the chance to talk to Marissa any longer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that distinctive black BMW screech to a halt in front of Holly's house, and knew his morning was about to go from bad to worse. 


	20. Mighty Mouse

Ryan attempted to swallow the lump that was in his throat as he watched Sandy get out of the car and storm over to them.  
  
"You," he said, pointing to Ryan, "Are in a hell of a lot of trouble. And we will discuss this at home. Let's go!"  
  
"Sandy, I..." Ryan started to explain, but Sandy cut him off,  
  
"Now, Ryan!" he shouted.  
  
Ryan looked over at Marissa who just smiled sympathetically at him,  
  
"You better go, Ryan." she said, "I'll talk to you later."  
  
"You know, I am sorry, and I still love you." Ryan told her softly before he turned and walked away.  
  
After he watched Ryan go to the car, Sandy turned to Marissa and told her, "Marissa, I can wait if you want to get your stuff. Then I'll drive you home."  
  
"No thanks, Sandy," Marissa said, "I'm fine here."  
  
He stared at her for a minute. She didn't look fine, but right now, she couldn't be his concern. Sandy was there for Ryan.  
  
"I think you should go home, Marissa." Sandy told her, "But if not, then at least leave here. Your mother told me to let you know that if you aren't home by this afternoon, she's going to have the police come get you. So I suggest you don't stay here. Go to Summer's or come to our house. And let your mother know where you are. This isn't a game anymore Marissa."  
  
When she didn't answer him, Sandy added, "Ryan will call you when he can."  
  
Ryan sat up straight as he saw Sandy approach the car. It was obvious that Sandy was mad, madder then Ryan had seen him in a long time.  
  
"Sandy," Ryan started. He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to say or should say. He was sorry that he had made them mad again, but he wanted to talk to Marissa. But Sandy just glared at him, which shut Ryan up from continuing his attempt to apologize.  
  
Sandy was quiet for a few minutes. He was trying very hard to calm down and regain his composure. After a few very deep breaths he finally said, "Ryan, do you know what the word no means?"  
  
"Huh?" Ryan asked, not sure if the question was rhetorical or if Sandy actually expected an answer.  
  
"I said do you know what the word no means?" Sandy said, in an even tone. A very angry even tone.  
  
"Um, yes." Ryan answered, still not following what Sandy was getting at, and when Sandy shot him a look, he continued, "Um, no means, well, no. Don't do something."  
  
Sandy only nodded, and then said, "And do you know which one of us is the adult as in the parent and which one of us is the teenager as in the kid?"  
  
"Sandy..." Ryan started to say, but when he saw the look Sandy was still giving him, he just sighed, "Yes. You're the adult, and I'm not."  
  
"Fine, just checking," Sandy said, still with that same even, very angry tone.  
  
"Kirsten was about to call the police," Sandy said after a few more quiet, tense minutes, "We had no idea where you were until Seth finally told us."  
  
"I'm sorry." Ryan said, looking down at his feet.  
  
"You aren't now, but you will be." Sandy said as he pulled into the driveway, "In the house, let's go. Now."  
  
Ryan again just sighed as he got out of the car and headed for the house. He reached for the front door, but jumped when it suddenly flew open.  
  
"Ryan, thank God." Kirsten said, "Exactly what did you think you were doing?"  
  
"I wanted to talk to Marissa." Ryan answered. It was a weak answer, but all he had.  
  
"You wanted to talk to Marissa?" Kirsten shouted, loud enough for half of Newport to hear her. "Where were you when the doctor at the hospital told you to rest or when the doctor here told you to rest, to take care of yourself? Didn't you hear them? Do I need to get your hearing checked, too?"  
  
"Kirsten, I'm sorry," Ryan started to apologize again. But Sandy put his hand on Ryan's back and directed them all into the house, "Okay, the neighbors don't need to hear our business. Let's discuss this inside." Sandy told them both.  
  
Ryan stood in the entrance way, waiting for one of them to continue the yelling, but for a very uncomfortable minute neither of them said anything. They just stared at him.  
  
"Look, I'm sorry. Really I am." Ryan started to explain, "But, Sandy, you saw what Marissa looked like. She needs help. And I thought I could help her. Julie can't. Jimmy can't or won't...."  
  
"Ryan," Kirsten quickly interrupted, "Take a look in the mirror. A good hard look at what you look like. I can get the copy of your hospital records if you'd like. You need to help yourself. You were injured. Seriously injured. I can't believe I would have to remind you of the broken ribs, the concussion, the collapsed lung, the one kidney that wasn't even working when they brought you into the hospital, barely conscious. And yet here you are, out trying to take care of someone else. I just. Don't get it."  
  
Ryan just looked down at his feet. He could tell Kirsten was frustrated, upset, and he was sorry about that. But it wasn't as if he hadn't been beaten up before in the past. He knew Sandy and Kirsten weren't used to it, but Ryan was. He was hurt, but he'd heal.  
  
"I'm fine," he started to tell her, but jumped when she shouted, "You're not fine!"  
  
"Ryan," Sandy ordered, "Go upstairs to your room. We'll be up in a little while to discuss this."  
  
"Yeah, sure." Ryan mumbled as he made his way towards the stairs. He was glad for the reprieve, but knew it would be a short one. They would be coming up shortly, and it would give a whole new meaning to the phrase tag team parenting.  
  
Seth was standing in his doorway when Ryan came up. "Hey," he said, "You okay?"  
  
Ryan just looked over his shoulder, towards the stairs and shrugged, "So far."  
  
"They're pretty pissed." Seth said.  
  
Ryan nodded, "Yeah."  
  
"Look, man, I'm sorry. They both came home early, and I didn't know what to say." Seth apologized.  
  
"Not your fault, Seth." Ryan told him, "It's mine. I thought I could help her. I thought if I just talked to her, she'd listen. Thanks for trying to cover for me, though. I thought you said you weren't going to, that if they called, you were going to tell them."  
  
Seth only shrugged before smiling. "See, Ry, that's what brothers do. Us against them. We watch each other's backs, even if I was trying to cover up your stupidity. Complete and total stupidity, I may add."  
  
"Thanks, Seth. That means a lot." Ryan joked, then he asked, "Did you know? Did you know how bad she was?"  
  
"Summer told me." Seth admitted, "Mom and Dad know, too. That's why they wanted to keep it from you for a while. They think Grandpa may be right. Marissa may need more help then any of us, including you, can give her. You know, it's not your fault. This whole year has been rough for Marissa, and not because of you. You were probably the one reason she was able to handle it as well as she did before now. But if she's going to have that much trouble handling it all, then there is nothing wrong with her getting the professional help she needs."  
  
Ryan didn't look at Seth as he whispered, "It's just like my mom all over again."  
  
"Yeah, we know." Seth told him, "We just didn't think you knew."  
  
Ryan didn't say anything else as he walked into his room and laid on his bed, and waited for the firing squad.  
  
Ryan eventually fell asleep waiting for them to come start their discussion, unaware that a discussion was already taking place downstairs. It didn't include him, but it was definitely all about him.  
  
"Just so you know," Seth said as he walked into the kitchen, "He now sees the comparisons between Dawn and Marissa. So maybe him going there wasn't such a bad idea."  
  
"Seth, we didn't ask for your opinion nor do we need your input." Sandy told him, "And if you don't mind, your mother is on the phone. So be quiet."  
  
Kirsten hung up the telephone and told Sandy, "Well, the doctor said he didn't think we had to bring Ryan in. Just have him rest and not overexert himself any further. If he starts to run a fever, has any trouble breathing, or appears to be in an extraordinary amount of pain, then we should either bring him in or bring him to the emergency room."  
  
"What the hell was he thinking? It was bad enough that he called her last night after I explicitly told him no, but to leave here and walk over to Holly's house? I just don't get it. Why would he do that?" Sandy was ranting. He really didn't expect an answer from Kirsten or Seth. He was just venting his frustrations, and was surprised when Seth had an answer,  
  
"He's Mighty Mouse, Dad. Seriously, he knew last night that Marissa would be drinking, so he called her, despite what you said, hoping he could talk to her, and she would stop drinking and leave the party. And when that didn't happen, and when Julie threatened to call the police this morning, he went over there to talk to her again. Again to try to save her. It's what he does. He went to Chino to save Teresa and her baby from Eddie. Saved me from Luke and his water polo playing friends, and then saved Luke from the Del Vista soccer team. And he's spent the past year saving Marissa from what ever Marissa needed to be saved from - Oliver, Tijuana, Julie Cooper. You name it, and he was willing to save her from it. At any cost."  
  
"Well, it's time for him to stop being Mighty Mouse and go back to being a kid." Kirsten said.  
  
"Go back to being a kid?" Seth repeated, "Mom, when was Ryan ever a kid? He's never had the chance. What do you expect from him?"  
  
"We've given him that chance, and we expect him to listen to us. When we tell either of you to do something, or not do something, we expect you to listen. You both know how to act, and what we expect from you." Kirsten told him.  
  
"And this is based on what?" Seth asked, "The one year he spent with us, or the other sixteen that he spent fending for himself? Does he even know why you guys are so mad? I mean, really know? Come on, you guys are upset at him because he doesn't seem to take his injuries very seriously, and I doubt he does. We all know this isn't the first time he's been beaten up. Fine, no one likes to talk about it, but to Ryan, this is probably no big deal."  
  
"Seth," Sandy finally said, after being unusually quiet, "This really doesn't involve you. It's nice to see you so concerned about Ryan and all, but this is between me, your mother and Ryan."  
  
"Well, the two of you are sitting down here playing judge, jury and executioner, and you've got Ryan locked up in his holding cell awaiting your verdict. I figured maybe the guy deserved to have a mouth piece working on his behalf." Seth told them. He was only half joking.  
  
"Judge, jury, executioner, holding cell, mouth piece?" Sandy said, "Seth, I think you've been watching way too many Perry Mason reruns."  
  
"I'm just saying..." Seth started to say.  
  
"We know what you're trying to say. And thank you for your input. But your father is right. This is between us and Ryan." Kirsten told him. "Go, do something. Call Summer, clean the pool, do something."  
  
"Call Summer or clean the pool? Hum?" Seth pretended to think, "Well, if those are my only two options, I guess I'll have to pick calling Summer."  
  
"Just remember," Seth added as he started to leave, "Ryan is the only brother you two appear to be giving me. So go easy on the guy. We do graduate after this year. Don't ground him until then."  
  
"You do know he's right." Sandy said after Seth was gone.  
  
"What, that we can't ground him until he graduates? Probably not. But I'd like to. I'd like to finally be able to keep him safe, uninjured, and loved. I don't think that's too much to ask for, do you?" Kirsten said. She was trying to make it sound like a joke, but she was very serious in how she felt.  
  
"I don't think it's too much to ask for, but it might be for Ryan." Sandy sadly admitted, "He may never accept being just a kid, no matter what we say or do."  
  
"So what?" Kirsten asked, "We just allow him to continue to disregard his own health and well being and do whatever he wants, whenever he wants? No, I can't agree with that. He's a good kid, and he deserves the chance to be a kid, with parents who love him. And because we love him, we need to be willing to ground the life out of him whenever he deserves it."  
  
"No, you're right. I agree. I'm just saying he may not be capable of understanding what it means to just be a kid. Come on, I think we should go talk to him." Sandy said. "And before you go all Mama Mighty Mouse on him, give him a chance to talk, to explain what happened."  
  
"Ok, enough with the Mighty Mouse talk." Kirsten told him, "I need to get his antibiotic, because I can guarantee that if I ask him, he'll admit to not taking it today."  
  
As she and Sandy headed upstairs, Kirsten asked, "So, what are you going to say?"  
  
Sandy just shrugged, "I don't really know. I figured I'd just ask him what he was thinking and then depending on what he says, go from there."  
  
"Go from there?" Kirsten asked, "So we don't know how long he should be grounded for?"  
  
"Nope, let's see what he has to say," Sandy replied, "how much arguing we end up doing."  
  
"Ryan argue?" Kirsten said, "Sandy, he's not going to argue. He never argues with us. We probably could ground him until graduation, and he won't argue with us."  
  
"But he doesn't always listen to us, either." Sandy told her. "So, let's just hear what he has to say, and see if we can clip Mighty Mouse's wings."  
  
"I said enough Mighty Mouse talk." Kirsten told him, "Besides Mighty Mouse didn't have wings, he had a cape."  
  
"I guess our super hero could have used a cape today," Sandy said as he walked into Ryan's room and found him asleep on the bed. "Since walking was obviously too much for him."  
  
"Well, I guess we'll have to talk to him later, then." Kirsten said as reached for the throw blanket at the foot of Ryan's bed.  
  
Before Kirsten could cover Ryan, though, he began to stir at the sound of their voices. ''Hey, no, I'm awake." he said as he sat up, "I was just, yeah. Sorry."  
  
"Don't be sorry." Sandy told him, "If you're not going to listen to us, at least you're willing to listen to your own body when it tells you to rest."  
  
Ryan could only sigh. He was beginning to wish he'd pretended to still be asleep after they came in. As Sandy leaned up against the desk and folded his arms in front of him, Kirsten went into the bathroom and returned with a cup of water.  
  
"Do I need to ask?" she said as she handed him both the cup and the antibiotic.  
  
"No." was all Ryan said.  
  
"No, I don't need to ask, or no, you didn't take it this morning." Kirsten asked.  
  
"Both." Ryan answered, "Sorry."  
  
Kirsten put her hand to Ryan's forehead before asking him, "How do you feel?"  
  
And without thinking, Ryan just said, "I'm fine."  
  
"Well, you don't feel fine. You feel warm." Kirsten told him, "Are you having any trouble breathing, or in a lot of pain?"  
  
Ryan shook his head and told her, "No, neither. Really, I'm fine. I just got a little tired so I laid down. That's all. Really."  
  
Kirsten looked over at Sandy before telling Ryan, "Well, I still think I should get the thermometer. The doctor wants us to make sure you don't start running a fever."  
  
"No, Kirsten, really, I'm fi..." Ryan started to say, but Kirsten just walked out of the room.  
  
Ryan looked over at Sandy. Tag, you're it, Ryan thought.  
  
"So, last night," Sandy started, "I believe I said not to call Marissa, or am I just imaging that conversation?"  
  
"No, you said not to call Marissa." Ryan answered.  
  
"But..." Sandy said.  
  
"But I called Marissa anyway. I wanted to talk to her." Ryan told him. He still knew it wasn't much of an answer, but it really was the only answer he had.  
  
"And then this morning. You left this house, and walked over to Holly's house. You've been told by the doctors and by us not to over exert yourself. To take it easy and take care of yourself. But you didn't, did you?" Sandy told him.  
  
"No." Ryan again answered, "I wanted to talk to Marissa. She wasn't answering her cell phone."  
  
"And all you can say is that you wanted to talk to Marissa. That's it?" Sandy asked.  
  
"I'm sorry." Ryan added.  
  
"Ryan," Sandy started, "We know you're worried about Marissa. We are, too. We've tried to help her over the summer, but she doesn't want help. Not from us. And I'm not going to go into this again with you. You can't help her if you're not first willing to help yourself. I don't know what more I can say, what it will take for you to listen. We are trying to do what's best for you. We want you to stop fighting us every step of the way."  
  
"Sandy, look, I'm sorry. That's about all I can say." Ryan said, "I know what you said. I heard you, but I wanted to talk to Marissa. To see for myself if I could help her, but you guys wouldn't let me. And I know what you said about it not being my fault. But it is. At least partially. None of this would have happened if I hadn't left with Teresa."  
  
"Last summer, when you first got here," Sandy said, "What did Seth tell you he was going to do this summer? And what was Marissa doing when you met her?"  
  
When Ryan didn't immediately answer but only look down at his hands, Sandy asked, "Well?"  
  
Ryan looked away, and answered, "Seth was going to sail to Tahiti. In forty two days."  
  
"And Marissa?" Sandy asked.  
  
"She was drinking, partying with Holly. Dating Luke." Ryan answered.  
  
"So the only thing that's different is that Marissa is no longer dating Luke. And at least for the past year, everybody's lives had improved, because you were here. So this summer you weren't here, and everything happened that we knew was going to happen. How is that your fault?" Sandy told him.  
  
"If I hadn't left..." Ryan again started to say.  
  
"But you left. Okay? You left. You were gone for two months, and now you're back. I think we've covered that already. You left, Seth left and Marissa started to drink again. I'd say all three of you have made some pretty bad decisions this summer. So stop trying to blame yourself for other people's mistakes. Ryan, you've only been seventeen for what, two weeks? Stop trying to take the weight of the world on your shoulders and enjoy being seventeen." Sandy lectured.  
  
Ryan could only make a face, then look down at his hands and then look away. It's not that he didn't understand what Sandy was trying to say. He just didn't know if he knew how. And despite what Sandy said or what Kirsten said, Ryan still felt that if he hadn't left, none of this would have happened.  
  
"Look," Sandy told him, "We could keep going around and around with this. But the bottom line is we make the rules and you and Seth follow them. And if you don't then there are consequences to pay. Maybe that's not how it works in Chino, but that's how it works in Newport. And you live in Newport now. With us. Got it?"  
  
"Yeah, I got it." Ryan mumbled. "Sorry."  
  
"Don't always be sorry." Sandy told him, "We actually do know what's best for you both, despite what you might think. Understand?" When Ryan only nodded in response, Sandy continued,  
  
"Fine then. For the remainder of the summer, I want to know where you are and where you're going at all times. I don't want you just taking off on your own without first telling Kirsten and me where you're going. And if we say, no, we mean no. And that means you don't go. Is that understood?"  
  
Ryan again just nodded. He wasn't about to argue with Sandy. Given how mad Sandy was when he picked Ryan up, Ryan figured he'd be grounded for a whole lot longer then that.  
  
Sandy continued to explain, "This gives you an entire month before school starts to practice how to answer to parents. Hopefully by the end of that time, you'll remember to ask us before doing something, and unless you want to spend more time at home, you'll listen to us when we say no."  
  
"So I can't go anywhere for the rest of the summer?" Ryan asked.  
  
"No, see, you're not listening." Sandy told him, "You can go out, but we have to know where and with whom, at all times."  
  
"Ok." was all Ryan could think to say. He wasn't sure what else they were going to have to talk about. He figured something must have happened between the time Sandy sent him to his room and when he came in to talk, because Sandy no longer seemed mad, just annoyed. So Ryan was actually considering himself lucky that Sandy didn't yell, the lecturing was kept to a minimum, and his additional punishment consisted only of having to tell them where he was going when he went out. Unfortunately, his luck diminished slightly when Kirsten returned to his room, carrying the thermometer.  
  
"Here, put this under your tongue." she told him.  
  
"No, Kirsten, really, I'm..." Ryan started to tell her.  
  
"Ryan, so help me, if you say you're fine, this will not go in your mouth." Kirsten threatened as she held the thermometer up in front of him. Sandy couldn't help but snicker at the sheer look of panic on Ryan's face and the complete look of determination on Kirsten's.  
  
"99.9, so you are running a fever." Kirsten told him before turning to Sandy and asking, "Should we go to the doctor's or over to the emergency room?"  
  
Ryan started to open his mouth and tell her that he didn't need to go to the doctor's and definitely not to the hospital, that he was fine, but decided against it. She was in her parenting mode, plus she was mad at him. That was a dangerous combination, and Ryan knew it wouldn't be a good idea to argue with her.  
  
"I think you should probably call the doctor first. 99.9 isn't much of a fever." Sandy told her, much to Ryan's relief, "Could just be from walking down the beach in the heat. Ryan may just need to rest in bed for the remainder of the day."  
  
Ryan knew Sandy's last line may have been said to Kirsten, but it was directed at him.  
  
Ryan was relieved when Kirsten came back a few minutes later and told him to change into his sweats, he didn't need to go to the doctor's unless his fever went higher. But he was going to stay in bed. And this time, Ryan decided not to argue, not to whine and definitely not to ignore their orders. This time he figured the best thing he could do was listen to them and stay in bed. Try for at least the remainder of the day not to make them mad again. 


	21. Wrapping it all up

The next morning, Ryan made his way down the stairs slowly. It wasn't that he was all that sore and unable to move quickly. After yet another parental imposed day of bed rest, Ryan felt better. He just wasn't really sure if he was risking yet another lecture by coming downstairs, but he was bored upstairs. He never developed that fever that Kirsten kept checking for, over and over with that stupid thermometer. At least he knew enough not to tell her he was fine. To Kirsten, fine was now a four letter word, so Ryan quickly learned not to use it.  
  
He heard their voices in the kitchen before he got there. Sandy and Kirsten were both talking to Caleb, and it sounded like they were talking about him.  
  
"I just want to talk to the boy. That's all." Caleb said.  
  
"And I asked about what?" Kirsten told him.  
  
"Come on, Seth," Caleb said, "Help your grandpa out. Where is he?"  
  
Ryan was almost to the kitchen when he heard Seth say, "He's still upstairs. What's going on?"  
  
"Nothing," Caleb answered, "I just wanted to talk to him about Marissa."  
  
As Ryan reached the kitchen, he immediately asked, "What about her? What's wrong?"  
  
"Dad..." Kirsten began to warn, as Sandy told him, "Cal, whatever it is with Marissa, I'm sure you don't need Ryan. It was enough for him to go there yesterday."  
  
As Kirsten handed Ryan a juice and his antibiotic, she said, "Actually it was too much on him going there yesterday." She may have been talking to her father, but she was staring at Ryan.  
  
Ryan understood the look he was getting from Kirsten, and also noticed Sandy looking at him as well, but still turned to Caleb and asked, "What's wrong with Marissa?"  
  
"Nothing is wrong." Caleb finally said, "She came home last night. Right after Jimmy came home to discuss her behavior. She just walked in the door, and we all talked. She said that you two talked earlier. So, I just wanted to know what you talked about. What you said to make her come home."  
  
At first Ryan just shrugged. "I don't know," he told them, "We just talked. Is she going to get help?" He wouldn't be relieved until he knew if she was willing to get help, or if she still wanted to pretend nothing was wrong, that she was still just having fun.  
  
Caleb nodded as he told Ryan, "She says she is. So, whatever you said to her. Thank you."  
  
Ryan could only return Caleb's nod with his own before looking down at the bowl of cereal Kirsten had placed in front of him at the bar. He didn't do anything other then talk to Marissa, so he had no idea what Caleb would be thanking him for. He was just happy that Marissa had agreed to get some kind of help.  
  
"So, do you think that maybe you'll get a chance to call her soon?" Caleb continued.  
  
Ryan could only look up at Kirsten and Sandy unsure of his answer, since it all depended on their answer first.  
  
"In a few days, Cal," Sandy told him, "Ryan still needs time himself."  
  
Caleb actually snickered a little. Marissa had said something about Sandy being really mad that Ryan was at Holly's. "When my kids were teenagers," Caleb said, "We called that being grounded."  
  
"Dad, Ryan's hurt, not grounded." Kirsten told him.  
  
"Not yet anyway!" Seth announced, "First the doctor has to tell Mom and Dad that Ryan is better, then he's grounded."  
  
Ryan only looked up from his cereal long enough to glare at Seth. He really didn't want to discuss any of this in front of Caleb Nichol and definitely not with him.  
  
"Dad," Kirsten said, changing the subject "Why don't you tell Marissa to join us for dinner on Wednesday? We're planning on having Ryan's birthday dinner on that night."  
  
"But why?" Ryan asked, since it was news to him, "My birthday was a few weeks ago."  
  
"Your birthday was three weeks ago," Kirsten said, "And you weren't here. So, unless the doctor has a problem with it, we'll celebrate Wednesday night."  
  
Ryan started to open his mouth and tell her not to worry about it, not to bother going through the trouble, but then decided against it. She still had that tone in her voice. The one that kept telling him not to argue with what she said. He was learning. He hoped. So he just sat there and listened.  
  
"Ok," Caleb said, "Just tell us what time, and we'll be here."  
  
"We'll be here?" Sandy repeated. Not one of them missed Caleb saying that.  
  
"Yes, we'll all be here. Well, except Caitlin. She's still away at camp." Caleb said, "Birthday dinner, right? So that means a family dinner. You know, you should really call Marco; he's doing some wonderful new seafood dishes over at the Crab Shack. I'm sure he'd agree to cater the meal. And don't forget about the white lights. They always look better then those awful colored ones."  
  
"Really," Ryan finally spoke up, "You don't need to. I mean, thanks but it's okay. I don't need. We don't have to have any kind of dinner." Not only did he not want them to go to the trouble, but more then that, he didn't want them to go to the trouble and have Caleb and Julie there as well.  
  
"Nonsense," Caleb said, dismissively, "We'll see you Wednesday night, around seven. And don't forget to call Hailey over at Jimmy's. They're back now."  
  
After Caleb left, Ryan tried to think of a polite way to tell them that he didn't need to have some kind of birthday celebration dinner, definitely not one that included Caleb and Julie Nichol. Unfortunately, Sandy guessed exactly what Ryan was thinking, because he told him,  
  
"Sorry, pal. I told you, when dealing with family, it's the good, the bad and the ugly. So you're stuck with them for dinner as well. I'm sure you can suffer through it, for Kirsten. You know how she loves to throw these parties."  
  
And when Ryan stared blankly at him, and Seth snorted, Sandy corrected himself, "Okay, so she doesn't love to throw parties. But she does like to celebrate birthdays."  
  
"Come on," Kirsten told them, "We'll make it fun. I promise. We can get some lobsters and crabs from the Crab Shack. It'll be great, I promise."  
  
"Can't we just have hamburgers?" Ryan asked. Hamburgers would be a hell of lot cheaper then lobster and crab.  
  
"You want me to serve my dad and Julie hamburgers?" Kirsten asked him.  
  
"Maybe they won't come if we serve hamburgers?" Ryan said, hopefully.  
  
"Yeah, hamburgers and lots and lots of colored lights!" Seth added.  
  
Sandy then suggested, "Maybe one or two carnies."  
  
But Kirsten just shook her head and told all three of them, "No, they'll still come. And make all kinds of comments, and ruin the whole evening."  
  
Ryan just looked down at the bagel Kirsten had placed next to his cereal. He wanted to tell her that just them coming would ruin the whole evening. But he didn't. He would just be pointing out the obvious, so he said nothing, and let Kirsten begin to make her plans for this family birthday dinner that he really didn't feel comfortable with. As he poked at his bagel, he tried to remember all the lines that they had been handing him lately. Let them be the parents, stop fighting them; they know what's best. And on and on. He was trying. If they wanted to do this dinner party, he'd try to keep quiet.  
  
It didn't help keeping his mouth shut when Seth leaned over and told him, "Hey, look at it this way, maybe you can get the doctor to tell them you're still too sick to celebrate your birthday."  
  
Ryan didn't answer, but he did consider it. Maybe if he talked to the doctor, he could at least postpone the party for another week. And in that week he could try to come up with a valid reason for canceling this family birthday dinner.  
  
Unfortunately, two days later as he sat in the examining room of the doctor's office, he didn't wait alone. This time not only was Kirsten waiting with him, so was Sandy. They both wanted to see what the doctor had to say, and therefore, Ryan wouldn't get a chance to talk to the doctor alone.  
  
"Good morning, Ryan." Dr. Andrews said as he walked in, "I see you brought both parents today. I take it you don't mind if they both stay for my examination."  
  
Ryan just shrugged, "I don't really have a choice."  
  
The examination itself didn't take all that long and wasn't very painful so it didn't really matter if they stayed or not. The doctor removed the stitches from Ryan's forehead and lip, then he sent Ryan for x-rays, and then back to the doctor's office. All just to find out that Ryan was healing nicely. The doctor told him that he could slowly start to increase his activities, but to avoid heavy lifting and to rest whenever possible. So after a long morning of testing, poking, prodding and x-raying, Ryan was on the road to recovery, and officially grounded.  
  
The only consolation of the whole morning was on the way home, they were finally able to pick up the convertible. However, one of the many disadvantages to being 'grounded' meant Ryan could only watch Sandy as he drove it home, and he rode home with Kirsten. He kept staring at the car as Sandy drove ahead of them. He couldn't believe how different it looked, how just a paint job could change it so much. It did not look anything like Teresa's car anymore. Kirsten kept waiting for Ryan to say something about the color, and was surprised when he didn't. Seth was the one who finally said something when they got home.  
  
"Um, guys," Seth said as he joined them in the driveway, "I hope you didn't pay for this."  
  
"Why, what's wrong?" Sandy asked. "I think it looks good."  
  
"It looks wrong." Seth told him, "That's not candy apple, I mean fire engine red, that's dark. Dark red. They made a mistake."  
  
"They didn't make a mistake," Kirsten told him, "This is the color I choose. It's maroon."  
  
"Why?" Seth asked.  
  
But Kirsten only answered his question with her own question, "Seth, whose idea was it to paint the car candy apple red?"  
  
"It was the mutually agreed upon color." Seth told her.  
  
"Uh, huh," she said before turning to Ryan, "Ryan, whose idea was it to paint the car candy apple red?"  
  
"Really," he told her, "I said red was fine."  
  
"Well, I didn't think it was fine." Kirsten told them both, "I knew candy apple red was not your idea, Ryan, and I have my doubts that it was even yours, Seth. So I decided on the color."  
  
"So, I see it's begun," Seth joked, "You've painted the car a Ryan color. I am no longer the chosen one. I see you're now siding with your fellow blond. Favoritism is a bad thing, Mother, especially when I'm not the favorite."  
  
"Seth," Kirsten chided him, "I don't play favorites. The car is still red, for you, but a darker shade of red, for Ryan. So stop. It's called compromise. Try it sometime, you might like it."  
  
"And if not," Sandy added, "I'm sure Ryan wouldn't mind keeping the car himself. We would never force you to drive something you hated."  
  
"Yeah, man," Ryan told him, "I'm sure Summer won't mind the color when you tell her it's either riding in this or a piggy back ride on your skateboard."  
  
"I never said I hated it." Seth said, "It's just, you know, Summer and her rage black outs. I'll just tell her that we painted it to match her nail polish and lipstick colors. You know, wouldn't want the car to clash with her pedicure."  
  
Ryan could only shake his head, "You're just. That's just weird."  
  
"Yeah, well weird has served me well while dating Summer." Seth told him, "Keeps her from killing me."  
  
"So Dad, how about them keys," Seth continued, "Let Ryan and me take the car for a spin. I promise, a short spin. Just to try it out, see how it handles."  
  
"So, no." Sandy said, "Seth, you can have your keys in a little more then a week, and Ryan has two weeks. Until then, look at it all you want, but you can't drive it."  
  
"You have a real mean streak in you, Dad." Seth told him.  
  
"Yes, being the parent does have its advantages." Sandy told them both, "Right now, I think maybe your mother and I will take it for a spin."  
  
"We have some things to pick up for Ryan's dinner tomorrow night," Kirsten said, "We won't be long. Ryan, you should probably lay down for a while. Remember the doctor said to rest whenever possible. You don't have to go to your room; you can lay on the couch. Seth, don't bother him. No playstation. We'll have lunch when we get back."  
  
And with that, Sandy and Kirsten took off in the convertible, and Ryan and Seth could only stand there as they drove off.  
  
"They just stole our car." Seth muttered as they went into the house. "So, what do you think, maybe a little Grand Theft Auto in honor of the new wheels."  
  
"Was I the only one who heard no playstation?" Ryan asked.  
  
"But they're not home. Remember, they took our car and left." Seth said.  
  
"Seth, not right now. I think I'm just going to lie down." Ryan told him.  
  
"Suck up." Seth explained, "You know, you only have to follow what they say when they're here, or when there is a chance that they can catch you. But they're shopping. They won't be back for a while. We can play a few games, then put it away and no one will be the wiser."  
  
"Really, Seth," Ryan admitted, "I'm kind of beat. I just want to relax."  
  
"Yeah, okay," Seth said, "Hey, you want anything from the kitchen? I'm starved."  
  
Ryan thought about it for a second, "Yeah, grab me a soda, and get some chips."  
  
As Seth returned from the kitchen, he handed Ryan a soda and threw a couple of bags of chips on the table, and then asked, "I've been meaning to ask you, Ry. How did you know that the baby wasn't yours?"  
  
"I used. We were careful." Ryan mumbled. He really didn't want to have this talk with Seth, but figured he owed the guy some kind of explanation. "But you know," Ryan continued, "Those things are only like 98% effective. There was still a chance it could have been mine."  
  
"Yeah, a 2% chance." Seth snidely said, "You know, you could have said something to me."  
  
"Like what?" Ryan asked, "That it probably, most likely wasn't mine, but I want to go help Teresa anyway. You guys would have thought I was out of my mind."  
  
"Not out of your mind, but definitely on a super hero quest, again. And Mom and Dad would have never let you go." Seth told him.  
  
"Look, Seth, I really don't want to go into this again. Can't we just drop it finally?" Ryan told him, "I wanted to keep Teresa from going back to Eddie. Right or wrong. I'm sorry. Okay?"  
  
"Just don't leave again." Seth said. And then thought about something for a second, "You know, I've always wondered. If you wear two, does that make you 196% safe?"  
  
Ryan could only stare at Seth for a minute before answering, "I really don't know, Seth. Why don't you try it sometime? Just. Don't tell me about it."  
  
"I don't have to worry about that any more. After Teresa, Summer decided to take matters into her own hands, if you know what I mean." Seth told him.  
  
"Hardly ever," Ryan mumbled before saying, "Again, Seth, more information than I really wanted to know. Look, let's just talk about something else. Tell me about sailing to Tahiti and the Coast Guard."  
  
So Seth did. He told Ryan the whole sad story in a Seth kind of way, and then they talked about the car, and what to do with the rest of the summer, and Senior year and just about whatever came to mind until Ryan fell asleep.  
  
A few hours later, Ryan, Seth, Kirsten and Sandy all had lunch on the patio. Just like they used to, before Teresa and Eddie and Chino. It was great to just be with his family. Again. 


	22. The End

Ryan was getting more then a little concerned the next day when Sandy and Kirsten again went shopping for the dinner. It was being catered, so what more could they be shopping for? Sandy told him it was more then a birthday celebration. They were celebrating Ryan's birthday as well as being home, Seth being home and them being a family again. So Ryan knew it wasn't going to be a small celebration.  
  
Ryan and Seth spent most of the afternoon playing PlayStation, watching as the caterers came in and out setting things up.  
  
"This is crazy." Ryan muttered as he watched them hailing in trays and boxes and bags of food and other party supplies, "It is just like the ten of us, right?"  
  
"What's so crazy about it?" Seth asked, "You were here for my birthday. You know what it's like."  
  
"Yeah, and that was nuts. But this? This is insane." Ryan told him, waving his arms around at all the activity going on around them. "There is no reason for all this."  
  
"Well, Mom and Dad think there is." Seth said, "So suck it up and enjoy. Besides, you get presents. Presents make everything worth while."  
  
Ryan just shook his head. He was seventeen, not seven. "Seth," he told him, "I don't need presents. There isn't anything I need."  
  
"Except money. Money is always good." Seth told him.  
  
Even though that was true, Ryan just snapped, "I don't need money for my birthday. If I needed money, I'd go get a job."  
  
"Well, no, Ryan, you wouldn't. Or I should say you couldn't." Seth teased, "See, I know that you're not allowed to get a job until next summer. So, just relax. Enjoy. Hey, I know what'll take your mind off all the excitement. Let's take the car for a spin."  
  
"Take the car for a spin?" Ryan repeated slowly, since he couldn't believe Seth would actual suggest that, "Seth, don't you think we're in enough trouble. Do you really think it's such a good idea for us to go out?"  
  
"Sure, come on," Seth told him, "The car looks great. We need to go show it off. Come on, Mom and Dad said they wanted you to act like a typical teenager, and what does a typical teenager do? Well, he defies his parents, so in a way, they have already given you the go ahead. Besides, they're still not home, which means once again, I am your official babysitter."  
  
"I don't know, Seth." Ryan answered.  
  
Seth threw up his arms in mock disgust, "When did Ryan Atwood go soft? Hum? When did he become afraid to take chances?"  
  
"When he got grounded for two weeks longer then you!" Ryan told him, "I'd like to be able to drive the car sometime in my lifetime."  
  
"Chicken." Seth continued to tease.  
  
"Chicken? You know, I don't get you." Ryan said, "What's the difference between now and a few days ago when I went to Holly's? You were pissed then. Suddenly it's okay for me to not listen?"  
  
"Well, this time it's about the car. Besides, we won't get caught." Seth tried to assure Ryan.  
  
Ryan only made a face at Seth when they both heard Sandy say, "Hey, fellas. We're home. What's going on?"  
  
They both just mumbled "nothing" in response. But since Sandy heard at least part of the conversation, he told them, "Oh, I thought I heard something about the car."  
  
Again, Ryan just made a face at Seth, letting him figure out a way to explain their conversation to Sandy. He could have killed Seth when he said, "Ryan's trying to corrupt me. Force me to take him for a spin in the car."  
  
"Seth..." Ryan warned, before Sandy told him, "Very funny, Seth. Come on, leave Ryan alone. He needs to rest up for tonight. Come help me with the tables and chairs."  
  
"I can help." Ryan offered, since he really didn't want to go rest, again.  
  
But Sandy just shook his head as he reminded Ryan, "No heavy lifting, remember?"  
  
"Chairs aren't heavy." Ryan pointed out, "Really, I can do something."  
  
"Yeah, Dad," Seth agreed, "It's for Ryan's birthday. Let him do something."  
  
"Do something?" Sandy said, pretending to think about it, "Ok. You can rest."  
  
"But I'm bored." Ryan actually whined.  
  
But Sandy just told him, "Too bad. Come on, Seth, heavy lifting awaits."  
  
"Thanks, bro." Seth said as he left with Sandy.  
  
Ryan went to go find Kirsten, hoping that maybe there was something he could help her with, but she was locked in her bedroom, and told him that she didn't need him for anything and to go rest.  
  
With nothing else to do, and unable to watch all the commotion taking place in his honor, Ryan went to his room. Sandy still had his cell phone, so he couldn't call Marissa. But at least he would be seeing her in a couple of hours.  
  
He stared out the window for a while, watching as little white lights were being strung on just about anything that didn't move, and Sandy and Seth set chairs up around the long table. He watched as Kirsten came out of the bedroom and was obviously barking orders at them both. He laughed at Seth's mock salute, and the smack on the arm Kirsten gave him. He also watched them all laugh, and decided after a few minutes that he didn't want to just watch them, he wanted to go down and be with them.  
  
"Hey," he said as he joined them on the patio, "So I can relax here, right? Just sit here in this lounger and get some sun, right?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Kirsten smiled at him, "I think some sun would be good for you. Just don't try to do anything. Do you need anything?"  
  
"No, thanks." Ryan told her as he sat on the chaise lounge, "I'm good. I just wanted to, you know. Get some sun." He didn't know what else to say. He really just wanted to be with them and not alone in his room.  
  
Both Kirsten and Sandy smiled. They had never known Ryan to just want to get some sun, so they knew what he meant, even if he still didn't know how to say it.  
  
"That's fine." Sandy told him, "Just remember to let Seth do all the work. This time you be the brains, and let him be the brawn."  
  
Ryan couldn't help but laugh when Seth glared at him and muttered, "Manual labor is not my thing." and then warned Ryan, "yeah, just stay there, but bark one order at me, and you just may find yourself wrapped in tiny white lights."  
  
"Nah, I look better in colored lights." Ryan joked.  
  
"You'd rather have colored lights?" Kirsten said, "I guess they would be more festive for a birthday. We can take down the white lights and get colored ones if you want."  
  
As both Sandy and Seth moaned loudly, Ryan told her, "No, really. The white ones are fine. They're good. I like them. Really."  
  
"Ok, if you're sure," Kirsten said, as Ryan, Seth and Sandy all nodded in agreement, "Well, then, I guess we could use the patio table for presents, and......"  
  
"Presents?" Ryan interrupted, "Really, I don't need presents. There isn't anything I need."  
  
"See, I told you." Seth told Sandy.  
  
"Ryan, it's your birthday. Birthdays always mean presents." Kirsten said, and was speechless when Ryan mumbled, "Not always."  
  
But Sandy just told him, "Well, in this house, birthdays mean presents, and white lights, and lots of food, and now the gruesome twosome. Lucky you. But if you'd rather, we can give you our present now, before everyone gets here."  
  
"I thought that was the car." Ryan said, "I mean that was more than anything I ever... I mean that's more than enough."  
  
"Well, yes, there is the car." Sandy said, "But that's for you and Seth both. No, this is something for you. For your room. It's in our room. Seth, help me with it."  
  
"It's heavy, isn't it? That's why you need my help, you got him something heavy." Seth whined.  
  
Ryan could only stand there with his arms folded and his mouth open for a minute before finally asking, "A computer? But I have the laptop. Why a computer?"  
  
" Because it was Seth's old lap top. You'll need your own computer for school this year and next year in college." Kirsten told him.  
  
"No, I can't..." Ryan started.  
  
"Well, yes, I know you can't carry it upstairs," Sandy interrupted, "But don't worry, Seth and I can get it up the stairs. It's not that heavy."  
  
"No, really, I can't." Ryan again tried to say.  
  
"Ryan, stop." Kirsten finally told him, "Yes, you can. Come on, we have time before we all have to get ready. Let's bring it upstairs and set it up. I want to make sure it works."  
  
Ryan couldn't help but stare at the computer that now sat on his desk as he tried to get ready for his big dinner celebration. Just when he thought Sandy and Kirsten couldn't do any more for him, they do something like this. And they thought nothing of it. No matter what they said, it was still hard to accept at times. Even with Caleb going bankrupt, they had made it clear that money was not a problem for them, so it wasn't the money they spent. It was more that they spent it on him, and the fact they wanted to spend it on him, in much the same way they spent it on Seth. It was still so strange to have people who wanted to do for him and not expect anything in return.  
  
It was the sound of the doorbell that finally got Ryan moving as he quickly finished getting dressed. He knew he should be down there. It wasn't long before everyone was there, and Ryan awkwardly accepted their happy birthdays, their welcome homes and their gifts. Even Julie Cooper Nichol wished him well, in the fakest voice she could possibly ever muster.  
  
Ryan was still just standing on the edge of the patio watching them all socialize with each other, as the caterers set up enough seafood to feed an army, when he heard "Hey" from behind him. He turned to see Marissa approaching him. She looked better, but still not the girl he left in May.  
  
"Hey, how you doing?" he asked her.  
  
"Pretty good." she smiled, "You look better. I hope you didn't get into too much trouble the other day."  
  
"Nah, not too much." Ryan smiled, "So, if I can do anything, you know, call me."  
  
"I just might." Marissa said, "Just to talk. Maybe go out sometime. I missed you."  
  
"Yeah, I missed you, too." Ryan told her. It was strange how awkward Ryan suddenly found it to talk to Marrisa. With everything that they had gone through over the past year, it seemed like they had nothing left to say to each other. And with not knowing what else to say, Ryan reached over to give her a gentle hug, and was shocked when Marissa wrapped her arms around his neck and held him as tight as she could, and began to cry.  
  
"Hey, it's okay. Sshh. I'm sorry." Ryan softly whispered as he held her.  
  
Kirsten and Sandy could only look at them and then at each other. They both knew, there were bound to be a lot more talks and probably more then one fight, in their continued attempt to keep Ryan's White Knight complex in check, especially when it came to Marissa.  
  
"Hey, dinner's ready!" Sandy finally said, and watched as Ryan and Marissa walked to the table, holding hands. They'd be such a cute couple, if Marissa wasn't always in need of being 'saved' as Seth called it, and Ryan wasn't always so willing to be her hero.  
  
Dinner was actually fun, even with Julie and Caleb, definitely better then the last time they were all together, before the wedding. Well, better for everyone except the newlyweds.  
  
"Oh, Kiki, this is wonderful!" Julie announced, "It's been so long since I've really enjoyed some fresh seafood. What with Caleb and his current situation, who could afford lobster now!"  
  
"Gee, I'm sorry to hear that, Julie." Jimmy snidely said, "Wow, Hailey and I were just enjoying some great seafood in Hawaii. Had I known, I could have smuggled you some back in my suitcase."  
  
"Shut up, Jimmy." she told him, "I don't need to hear about your trip, or your seafood, or your girlfriend!"  
  
"There's no reason to be nasty about Hailey, Julie." Caleb snapped, "Just because you're mad at me."  
  
"Mad? What makes you think I'm mad at you, Cal?" Julie snarked, "What, just because you went bankrupt, were arrested, and humiliated me in front of all of Newport! And now, I'm losing my dream house to those sharks you're paying to keep you out of jail, and what little money you had, you gave to my ex-husband to buy some useless restaurant so he and his girlfriend can go off to Hawaii and enjoy seafood, and I can't even get myself a good pedicure! But you think I'm mad?"  
  
"More wine, Julie?" Kirsten said, before Sandy said, "Um, I think it might be present time!"  
  
Ryan groaned and shook his head, "Um, no, we don't need. It's not present time." But Sandy looked at Kirsten and then at Julie and Caleb, before telling Ryan, "Oh, yeah. I'd definitely say it was present time."  
  
Present time turned out to be both embarrassing for Ryan and yet interesting at the same time. He hated the idea that people would spend money on him, but some of the things he got were definitely interesting.  
  
Caleb and Julie gave him a book on architecture and two hundred dollars in cash. Given Julie's recent rant, Ryan wondered how they could afford it.  
  
Marissa gave him a picture frame, with a picture of the two of them at the wedding. It would have been a good picture, had they both not looked so sad. She also gave him tickets to a concert to see The Vines in LA, with a promise that it would be a lot better then the last time they went to a concert together, with Oliver.  
  
Summer gave him a new game for the playstation, which Ryan found funny. It was called Splinter Cell, Pandora Tomorrow, and it was the game Seth had wanted since it came out.  
  
"Seth said you wanted that." Summer told him, and when Ryan smirked and said, "Oh, he did, did he?" Summer understood and smacked Seth.  
  
"Cohen!" she yelled, "You said he wanted it. I can't believe you'd use Ryan's birthday to get something you wanted!" "Jerk." she added, as she hit him again.  
  
"Hey, ouch. Summer!" Seth yelped, "He will want it. Once we play it, he'll see how great it is. I promise. Just stop with the rage black outs!"  
  
"Ryan, I'm sorry. I should have known not to listen to Seth. I'll take it back, and get you something else. Like Grand Theft Auto, or something more your type." Summer apologized, and hit Seth again.  
  
"No, really, this is great, Summer. Thanks." Ryan reassured her, "And you know, the best part about the game being mine, Seth can only play it when I say so, not whenever he wants."  
  
The others laughed as Seth could only whine that it wasn't fair! Ryan was still laughing as he opened Jimmy and Hailey's present. It was more money, which he didn't feel very comfortable about and a set of keys. House keys.  
  
As Ryan held up the keys and looked confused, Hailey explained, "The keys to the pool house. Jimmy and I have decided to make it more permanent and move in together so I figured you'd want the pool house back. So those are the keys. Just give me a couple of days to get the rest of my stuff out, and it's all yours again."  
  
Ryan could only smile and say thanks as he put the keys back in the box. It would have been a really nice gift from Hailey, except for one thing. Ryan didn't want to move back into the pool house. He liked his room. It was his room, in the house, upstairs, next to Seth's room. Three of the walls were not made of glass, and no one referred to it as 'the room' the way they did with 'the pool house.' It was his room, and he liked it that way. But he figured if they expected him to move back into the pool house, then that's what he'd have to do. He was still staring at the keys, thinking about it when he noticed Kirsten's hand as she reached over and took the box.  
  
"If you don't mind," she told him, "I think I'll hold onto these. We can talk about the pool house at a later date."  
  
And since Ryan wasn't sure if Kirsten understood how he felt, or if she was trying to be parental again, he only shrugged and then smirked and said, "Yeah, okay."  
  
Seth's gift was by far the most interesting as well as entertaining. He proudly announced that Ryan had saved the best for last as he presented him with a box. Of stuff. There were new posters for Ryan's room, of bands that Seth liked as well as the CD's that matched the posters. Seth also found a Mighty Mouse tee shirt with a matching Mighty Mouse key chain, which Seth thought was funny and Ryan did not. A box of condoms that Ryan quickly threw back into the box and glared at Seth. And a trucker hat.  
  
"I thought you hated trucker hats?" he asked Seth.  
  
"Only smelly dirty trucker hats that you win off the heads of angry trucker dudes in a smoke filled poker game!" Seth told him.  
  
Both Seth and Ryan started to laugh, remembering Vegas until Kirsten said, "Excuse me? Angry trucker dudes? Smoke filled poker games? Is there something we should know about?"  
  
"No, not really." Ryan told her, and Seth said, "Yeah, I mean what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas."  
  
"Why?" Sandy asked, "What happened in Vegas?"  
  
As they all looked to Ryan, waiting for an answer, Summer hit Seth and told him, "Way to go Cohen, getting him in trouble when all he was doing was trying to win the money to pay off your hoes!"  
  
"Hoes! What hoes?" Kirsten said, as all eyes went from Ryan to Seth, waiting for one of them to answer.  
  
"So, let me gets this straight," Sandy said, "While in Vegas you two got involved with angry trucker dudes, smoked filled poker games and hoes. This sounds like it's going to be one heck of a story, and I for one cannot wait to hear it."  
  
"Now?" Ryan asked, "You really want to hear about it now?"  
  
"If not now, then definitely later." Kirsten warned them both.  
  
"Face it, Sanford," Caleb chuckled, "You were so busy in Vegas doing your best to ruin me that you didn't even know what your own boys were up to! They got away with something, let it go at that."  
  
Ryan slipped the trucker hat back into the box, and figured the less said about it, the better. For both him and Seth.  
  
Later in the evening, Ryan did attempt to give the money back to Caleb, thanking him but trying to tactfully tell him it wasn't necessary. Caleb was so sharp and nasty in his reply that he "wasn't so broke that he couldn't give his grandson some money on his birthday," that it took Ryan a minute to even realize that he, Caleb Nichol, had referred to Ryan as his grandson.  
  
As Ryan mumbled a "thank you," and began to walk away, Caleb told him, "Just don't try to leave again. No one in your family can handle it very well."  
  
And even though Ryan suspected Caleb meant well, he couldn't help but notice, it still sounded more like a threat than genuine concern.  
  
The party broke up a few hours later, after cake and coffee and more talking and a lot of laughing. Ryan kissed Marissa good night and promised to call her as soon as he could, and thanked everyone for coming and for his gifts, and made his way up to his room, carrying the presents that he had received.  
  
Seth came in a little while later, and laughed at the fact Ryan was actually wearing his Mighty Mouse tee shirt with his sweatpants.  
  
"Hey, nice." Seth told him, "But I thought that would end up being mine by tomorrow."  
  
"Yeah. You thought a lot of things would end up being yours by tomorrow." Ryan said, as he tossed him Summer's play station game.  
  
"Trust me, bro," Seth told him, "You're going to love this game. So, you survived your first Cohen family birthday dinner. Not bad. Not good, but not bad, right?"  
  
"No, Seth, not bad." Ryan said, as he smiled.  
  
"Okay, then, I guess good night. And hey, you, me, play station, tomorrow, deal?" Seth said as he walked out of Ryan's room.  
  
"Yeah, deal." Ryan told him.  
  
Yeah, Ryan thought, play station, and Mighty Mouse tee shirts, and trucker hats, and new computers and...... parents.  
  
Ryan found Kirsten and Sandy sitting together on a lounger by the pool drinking wine and talking.  
  
"So, I just wanted to say good night, and thank you." He told them both, suddenly self conscious about what he really wanted to say.  
  
"Good night, sweetie. We hope you had a good time." Kirsten said, and Sandy told him, "Good night, kid. Just think, you're off the hook now for a whole year."  
  
"Yeah." Ryan said, "I mean, thanks. For everything. I'm, um, really glad to be home."  
  
"You're welcome for everything." Kirsten told him, "And we're really glad you're home, too."  
  
"Cause I can't wait to hear all about the angry trucker, the smoke filled poker game and the hoes." Sandy joked.  
  
"I think I'm gonna let Seth tell that story." Ryan told him.  
  
"I look forward to it. See you in the morning." Sandy said.  
  
Ryan nodded, "Yeah, see you in the morning."  
  
"And Ryan?" Sandy said, as he lifted his wine glass in the air, "Welcome home, son."  
  
Ryan could only smile shyly and look down at his feet as he turned and walked back into the house. His home.

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Fin. The End. That's all she's got, folks!!


End file.
